Why can’t we just switch off our brains as easily as we can switch them on?
For many of us, overthinking and worrying is our constant companion. We overthink everything and it is not only stressful, it’s also exhausting! It prevents us from being in the here and now, and instead keeps us unhealthily fixated on the past or the future. Let’s face it, life is way too precious to spend most of it inside our heads creating problems for ourselves.
So how do we fix this? How do we become masters of our minds, rather than its slave? Here are some methods that have personally helped me.
List it Down: One way to help quieten the mind is to write down what you’re worried about. The very act of jotting down what’s troubling you helps to clear the thoughts from our minds, and on paper they can also seem much less daunting when they’re actually spelled out. Writing or journaling also forces us to take action, rather than feeling paralysed by worry, so it helps us to get around to the tasks we might be putting off or burying our head in the sand about.
Switch Things Up: Sometimes, just getting out for some exercise can be enough to completely change our mind set and curb the overthinking. Exercise is a natural mood enhancer and is extremely distracting. Just having to concentrate on the activity forces your brain to focus on something else other than those repetitive thoughts. It also releases endorphins into our blood stream – so take yourself out for a jog around the park, a walk with a friend, a yoga class or a fun dance class. Whatever you fancy. Whenever my brain is tired from overthinking, I love to step on to my yoga mat or head to a class with my favourite teacher and just let everything go for an hour. I always come back feeling so refreshed, so much more present and my perspective has shifted and I’m able to see things more clearly. Another thing that helps is to meet up with a friend and just vent. Talk your worries out. Let them out into the open – whatever it takes to just get out of your own head. Plus, seeing friends always results in laughter, which is another positive mood booster, so grab your friends and do something spontaneous and fun.
Step Outside Your Mind: Just stepping outside of your mind can really help you to shift your perspective. Try sitting down somewhere comfortable, closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing in a simple meditation practice. See if you can become an observer of your mind, rather than a slave to it. I find that visualising myself stepping outside of my body and watching over myself and my thoughts really helps me to shift my perspective. Labelling helps too, so when you notice the thoughts or worries creeping back in, just say “thinking” in your head. The very act of giving it a label and acknowledging what you’re doing helps to stop the thought in its tracks. You can keep a notebook and pen nearby too, so that when an important thought comes in, you can jot it down. This way, you can start to pick and choose the thoughts you give attention to, separating the important ones from the ones that aren’t doing you any good. Deep breathing exercises can also improve our memory and help us to make better decisions where our emotions are a central part of evaluation. Neuroscientists have discovered that there are major changes in brain activity when you inhale, increasing our memory and its accuracy. So, that yoga stuff really does work wonders…
This Guest Post was brought to you by Sarah Fretwell
Find her at www.sarahfretwellyoga.com/ Follow her @sarahfretwellyoga
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