When we don’t keep ourselves busy and feed our mind positive things, we can fall into the trap of getting in our own head. Whether it’s our own thoughts or all of scary headlines about coronavirus we are bombarded by daily.
What does that mean? It means we tend to overthink things, self-examine and worry beyond what healthy reflection is. We can get caught in the vicious cycle of rumination and stay stuck there.
Let’s look at common triggers for overthinking:
- Replaying a high stress situation over and over again and feeling unsure about how to handle it.
- Feeling uncertainty about the future.
- Having an upcoming deadline on a decision you have to make, or second guessing a decision you’ve already made.
Here are some ways you can pull yourself out of this cycle of overthinking things.
1.) Check the facts. It is so easy for us to get consumed by our feelings and worries in these moments. We often mistake fears or worries for the facts, when they are just how we are feeling. For example, if I find myself in my head replaying how my boss has been acting and I am afraid of losing my job, my fears and worry can make things appear worse than they are. Give yourself a reality check by asking yourself if things have really escalated to that point where you think you are going to lose your job. Have you had a meeting with HR? Have you been given warnings about certain behaviors? Then give yourself an honest assessment of your job performance, noting where you bring value to the company and develop an action plan for improvement that you can present, should things get to that point.
2.) Play a game of possibilities. If you find yourself ruminating over a conversation you had with someone because they got snappy and you feel like it is about you, get silly and creative thinking about alternative meanings as to why they acted that way. For starters, it can be funny. But more so, most of the time how people act towards you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with how they are feeling about something on their mind, or how they feel about themselves.
3.) Create a healthy distraction. Sometimes just blocking out what is in your own head and filling it with a healthy distraction can calm you down so you can look at things more rationally. By giving yourself time away from the stressors and doing something productive, often you can approach the subject afterwards from a much better place.
4.) Lean on a good support system. Sometimes just “checking” our thoughts with a friend can make all the difference. Maybe you are feeling insecure about something that happened and your friend can see it more objectively and offer a new perspective.
