How can I learn to quit thinking so much? I tend to overanalyze and I wish I could just turn it off!?

Question

For some people it may be as easy as turning on the radio...I, however, lost my hearing 6 years ago. It feels like I have been in Deep Analysis ever since: distractions are hard to come by. I over think EVERYTHING and I'm getting on my own nerves! Exercise is the only time I'm able to kind of zone out, but there are only so many miles you can jog in a day :)

Answer 1

I don't kno...I also suffer from overanalyzotoria..lol.

But it can be a good thing... u just have to learn to put all that "thinking power" to good use..

not everyone CAN think as deep as we do...
sure it gets annoying and it can seem like a burden sometimes...but I think it is more of a gift.

Sorry I couldn't help more.

Answer 2

Yep, it is become a health issue when a thought become a fear/stress of a current, future, or never going to happen situation. I myself trap into that mode most of the time. Even though, I am still young enough and healthy, but once awake for going to bathroom in the middle of the night, I begin to analyze and plan out the new day, week, month, year, and life. Forsee and predicting the roadblock at work, family, and life, could make me feel like life is over and meaningless. I am not sure my suggestions below help, but it did help me to cope with the panic.

1. Go to shopping for clothes after work. (I am not gay, and I am a male) to make me feel like I had a life after work and I am not waisting any minute of it by spending the time at the shop or store not neccessary of buying thing just window shopping, seeing other people rather coworker, see new things which you had missed during the day at work. Beside, if you see something you like, and it is a great bargain, it is worth it to pamper myself once in a while. Once you have a good time, you will not analyze and bump out about anything.
2. Rent a movie to watch it before go to sleep.
3. I am a catholic, so to distract the worry thought, I recidle the bible in my head. Do not read it from a book it would make you analyze and visual the worry thought.
4. Find a mate/companion to replace some of the free time which they are not included in the program above.
5. Go to the moutain once in a while. Where I am at, I tend to seclude myself and enjoy the nature of Yosemite National Park.
6. Exercise, you should lift weight or do tommy crunch. These exercise will release your stress and block out the current worry. Jogging, Yoga, and biking will give you time to think and not focus.
6. It above still not help, note to self: There are others are more unfurtunate, blind, handicap, poor, homeless, ... appreciate what you have and enjoy while it last.

Answer 3

I am sorry to hear about your loss. Well...i think thinkin is a really good thing that could happen.....i mean where would humans stand in the animal kingdom if we could not think..........but.......if it becomes a pain in the neck, u need to do something to do about it. Well as u might have experienced till now that thinking is a little sort of an involuntary action and is rather difficult to control......well i guess u must have also heard about ppl doing gr8 stuffs like magic, hypnosis etc etc. There is some truth behind all these. So what i want to sugest to u is that, "THINK" not about everything but about your own question....I guess if u overthink and overanalyse too much, u must have already come out with some solutions why you are thinkin too much.....Use your so called pain in the neck, "overthinking" to confront the situation. Use it as an asset, and i bet u ll discover much more than u know already. Remember, it is those who know how to make wrongs right and those who stand firm who succeeds in the long run. U should keep the zeal of winning every fight/battle u face in life. Try to think something creative and make use of it to make someone's day. You will feel lighter in ur heart and happier.

Answer 4

Keep Jogging for one, you might want to talk to a counselor or docotor. My friend is speech impared and she never thought of doing that because she thought no one could understand her. She too over analizes EVERYTHING! She started going this last year and come to find out she has social axiety disorder and they gave her some meds, She's doing great and not analizing so much. She also see's a counselor once a week just to talk about nothing. It also takes alot of self disapline on her part. But it can be done! Good Luck!

Answer 5

I totally understand. I'm pretty neurotic about things myself but over the years I've learned how to put things out of mind. When you catch yourself feeling that way, just say to yourself, "well whatever," and think about someting else. Think about your grocery list or what new restaurant you want to try. Pick up a crossword puzzle or the like and try to get your mind to focus on something else. Use Yahoo answers and help others with their problems!!! Ultimately, you are in control of you and you have the power to turn this off. Hope I helped and good luck!

Answer 6

Welcome to the wonderful world of rumination! I'm sorry that you lost your hearing, but actually you have a wonderful opportunity presented to you: the opportunity to grow from deep within. It's a good thing, not bad at all, that you are a deep thinker, but as a fellow ruminant, I agree -- sometimes you just have to turn it off and zone out. It really does help to just let the body go, because you can get stuck in your own thought patterns. Zoning out may help your perspective and objectivity.

First of all, I'd suggest a very practical measure: go to your doctor and get checked out for depression and/or OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder. You've gone through a major life change, and you've lost a major sense. If you are depressed and/or have OCD, medication and possibly some therapist with a deaf psychologist may help a great deal. Rule out the physical first, then deal with the internal goings-on.

I'd suggest that you keep a journal, whether in writing or a blog. Don't avoid yourself. Dig deeper and see what's really going on in yourself. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how deep and thoughtful you really are. Perhaps you've never explored this side of yourself. If you're an extrovert like most people are, extroverts usually don't do too much internally. You're being given an opportunity to grow in new ways, ways that other people can't acknowledge, but only you can.

As a ruminant, I know that yes, there are only so much exercise you can do in a day, but when I feel my thoughts spiralling inward, I just get up and do something else. Even if it's just straightening up or reading a book, watching tv or another hobby, it's a way to stop the thinking and in a Zen-like manner, just focus on the work at hand.

Sometimes I have to take myself in hand and say, "Now look, let it go and stop chasing your own tail. Just do something else for a while." Usually this works for me, but at 38, it's taken a good 25 years or so to be able to think about my own thinking. Metacognition isn't always easy, because it, too, requires self-awareness.

I would warn you against taking medication just to stop the immediate discomfort. Thinking is a GOOD THING, and it shouldn't be uncomfortable. In America thinking is highly underrated in our culture of activity and athleticism and go-go-go. We need MORE thinkers and articulators, journalists and bloggers. We do NOT always need to be on the go all the time. As a thoughtful American who has traveled, it almost feels at time that Americans would do anything not to think! And that's not in balance.

Only you know if your thought patterns are in the OCD range, or if it's just an immediate discomfort that you are getting used to now that you have lost your hearing. I think that you may well be able to adapt to this new way of being without medication. But only you know if you are neurotic and in need of some outside help, or if you just need to adapt. Trust your judgment because you know yourself best of all.

As an introvert, I'm almost jealous of your loss of hearing. I know that it is a loss, but I don't think I would mind it so much. I'd love to be off in my own head and be even harder to interrupt! Good luck, though, with finding your own ways to relate to the world without and within.

Cheers, K (teacher and introvert)

Answer 7

You're right, you can only think so much in a day before you go nuts. You probably find yourself analyzing EVERYTHING nine ways from Sunday only to find yourself spun up with a wild imagination. This sounds to me like you may be suffering from a form of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). OCD shows itself in many different ways ranging from obsessive cleaning, obsessive hand washing/bathing, to just what you are experiencing...obsessive thinking. There are medications that you can take to help this. Just see your family doctor. You may also wish to consider counseling to find out what your "triggers" are, and learn some relaxation techniques to help you get control of your mind. Good luck! I know what you are feeling, and trust me there is hope!

Answer 8

It may sound too simple but when you start overthinking--sometimes called spinning--picture a big red stop sign in your mind and yell(either in your mind or out loud, whichever is appropriate) STOP!! If that isn't enough hum your favorite song to occupy your mind. Lastly, see a dr if it is really bad and nothing else works. He may be able to give you some meds, like an anti-anxiety med, that will calm you down.

peace&hope

Answer 9

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