what to do about overthinking?

Question

help i think too much. i cant sleep anymore. i worry about everything. im not crazy but if i continue overthinking about everything i might just give up! i wanna hut it off. why do i think too much? i try to stop myself but i just freaking think about everything! as in everything! help

Answer 1

If you truly cannot stop thinking about things and your thoughts can be considered persistent, intrusive, unwanted thoughts, you may be suffering from OCD. Persistent, intrusive, unwanted thoughts is the definition of the 'obsession' part of OCD. If the obsession part is unaccompanied by physical compulsions it is known as pure 'O'.

You sound like you are compelled to mentally ruminate on things when you really do not want to. Everybody experiences this from time to time - people turn things over and over in their heads when they are trying to solve a worrying problem in their lives - however, somebody with OCD would find themselves doing this more and more over a longer time period about things that RATIONALLY are not worth worrying about (maybe because there's nothing you can do about them, or they've already been solved). The key difference is that you are unable to switch from thinking about the (rationally insignificant) thing you are worrying about to something else successfully. Your brain seems stuck or 'locked' into a pattern of behaviour.

You may just be a 'worrier', this often accompanies being a perfectionist. You may not warrant a clinical diagnosis of OCD. However the behavioural therapy used to treat the disorder could be useful to you anyway. It is basically learning to control your own brain, and so it could be useful to anybody. Check out this website: http://www.ocduk.org/ for help

Answer 2

You have let your fears and negative emotions become the dominant force in your mind. You need to retrain your brain to get into the habit of thinking positively. Read Napoleon Hill's Think & Grow Rich for some ideas about Autosuggestion. Also, read The Celestine Prophecy, the Tenth Insight, and the Secret of Shambala by James Redfield. The Power of Intention by Dr. Dyer is another good one.

To train your brain into a better habit will take some hard work on your part. To do so, you need to interrupt each negative thought, and consciously tell yourself to think a different, positive thought.

Example: You worry obsessively about a stranger breaking into your house and possibly harming you.

When you have this thought you need to consciously stop it. Tell yourself "Stop this stupid thought! I am perfectly safe! I believe in the power of God to protect me!

I've heard it said that it takes 3 weeks to form any new habit. So you need to keep on top of your thoughts and correct each one as it happens.

Eventually, you will not have these negative thoughts anymore, and if you do, it will be for a reason, your intuition will be telling you something to really be aware of. Like perhaps you have this thought (from the example above) because you didn't lock your doors. But right now your natural intuition can't work because you have let your negative emotions/thoughts overwhelm you with nonsense.

Answer 3

A few years I had a pretty traumatic experience that caused me to think constantly. It eventually subsided on its own with time. You may want to speak with someone and get all of your worries off of your chest. I find that prayer is an excellent way to do this. There's also counselling or even sitting over a bowl of ice cream with a good friend and chatting regularly. At some point, either the problems will resolve themselves or you'll find a solution to them. Troubles don't last always! So please hang in there and don't give up.

Answer 4

MUSIC.. listen to music that you know the words too, you'll sing along in your head and stop thinking. It isn't a solution for the long term but it'll give you a break. Sex will do the same thing but can be destructive. The long term solution is to think about your thoughts as trains coming into the station. You have to bring them in one at a time or they will crash. Develop stop signs in your head and then bring the thoughts in one at a time. It sounds hard but it will work. Try the music thing for sure.

Answer 5

This is a gift. Be thankful that you want answers and like to be prepared for anything, but...BUT...if you don't take steps to keep this under control, you'll drive yourself nuts. The imagination is our most valuable tool but it needs to be regulated and guided. Do some research into what the great philosophers have said all through history. Eventually you'll see that we've fought this stuff forever and that there are techniques to keep our thoughts from becoming overbearing and wild. You'll find what you're looking for just hopefully sooner than later. Take care!

Answer 6

have you tried mental relaxation techniques like progressive muscular relaxation (PMR, Jacobson), autogenous training or other deep relaxation techniques? I'm sure you could find courses to take part in that alternative practitioners or therapists offer