Stop Overthinking Everything

• Over-thinkers are plagued by distressing thoughts. Their inability to get out of their own heads leaves them in a state of constant anguish.
• While everyone over-thinks things once in a while, some people just can’t ever seem to quiet the constant barrage of thoughts. Their inner monologue includes two destructive thought patterns -- ruminating and worrying.
• Ruminating involves rehashing the past. Worrying involves negative--often catastrophic--predictions about the future.
• The tendency to overthink everything holds them back from doing something productive.
• Thinking too much about things isn’t just a nuisance. It can take a serious toll on your well-being.
• Dwelling on your shortcomings, mistakes, and problems increases your risk of mental health problems. And as your mental health declines, your tendency to ruminate increases, which can lead to a vicious cycle that is hard to break.
• Overthinking leads to serious emotional distress. To escape that distress, many over-thinkers resort to unhealthy coping strategies, such as alcohol or food.
• Rumination and worry lead to fewer hours of sleep and poorer sleep quality.
• Putting an end to rehashing, second-guessing, and catastrophic predictions is easier said than done. But with consistent practice, you can limit your negative thinking patterns.
• Awareness is the first step in putting an end to overthinking. When you notice you’re re-playing events in your mind over and over, or worrying about things you can’t control, acknowledge that your thoughts aren’t productive.
• It’s easy to get carried away with negative thoughts. Acknowledge that your thoughts may be exaggeratedly negative. Learn to recognize and replace thinking errors, before they work you up into a complete frenzy.
• Dwelling on your problems isn’t helpful--but looking for solutions is. Ask yourself what steps you can take to learn from a mistake or to avoid a future problem. Instead of asking why did this happen? Ask yourself what can I do about it?
• Stewing on your problems for long periods of time isn’t productive, but brief reflection can be helpful. Thinking about how you could do things differently or recognizing potential pitfalls to your plan can help you do better in the future. Incorporate 20 minutes of “thinking time” into your daily schedule. During that time, let yourself worry, ruminate, or mull over whatever you want. Then, when your time is up, move onto something more productive. When you notice yourself overthinking things outside of your scheduled time, remind yourself that you’ll think about that later.
• It’s impossible to rehash yesterday or worry about tomorrow when you’re living in the present. Commit to becoming more aware of the here and now. Just like any other skill, mindfulness takes practice, but over time, it can decrease overthinking.
• Telling yourself to stop thinking about something can backfire. The more you try to avoid the thought from entering your brain, the more likely it is to keep popping up. Busying yourself with an activity is the best way to change the channel. Exercise, engage in conversation on a completely different subject, or get working on a project that will distract your mind from the barrage of negative thoughts.

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My View:
In most situations, what happened is only 10% and our negative reaction is 90%. Over thinking in wrong direction ruins our own personality, serves no purpose and one gets socially isolated. The easiest way to be happy is discard unhappy thoughts. Not easy. When ever one's thoughts goes in negative direction, just walk for five minutes and thought process changes direction. Realize that it is nobody's job to keep you happy. It is your own. You are neither superior nor inferior to any body. Personality development, awareness and conscious efforts are the only ways to come out of this awkward situation. Learn to take action, forgive and stop looking behind you. See what is right in front of you, and what lies ahead.