The 'Overthinking' Issue
Overthinking is a common yet often overlooked issue that can quietly erode our mental well-being. Most commonly, over-analyzing the past, or worrying about the future. It might begin with a simple concern or decision, but left unchecked, repetitive thoughts can result into anxiety, stress, and even physical fatigue. Many people struggle to break free from this relentless mental loop, finding themselves analyzing every detail until the situation feels insurmountable.
This post delves into the roots of overthinking, its impact on daily life, and practical steps to help you regain control of your thoughts and find peace of mind.
Title: "𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚"
Subtitle: 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟸 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.
✶𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻: 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺/𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴). 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. "𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜"
Index
✶Tip: Read the following with a clear and open mind. Try to embibe and practise this wisdom in every day life.
The following was written in response to a query we received on our Samadhan WhatsApp group in Dec 2024.
————————————
Introduction
Medically speaking, overthinking is a common mental pattern in which we repeatedly revisit 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴—often without reaching a solution. This is a common struggle that most likely involves 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚢𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎. Let us take them one by one:
Analyzing Past
This is sourced from "regret, lack of clarity, attachment to a personal view (ego), or an emotional hurt associated with a past event or a person". This must be 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 as soon as possible, before one goes deep and gets free from the hold of 'reality'.
Worrying About Future
This is sourced from the feeling of 'uncertainty' about the 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 and its 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. This uncertainty can be 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭. Worrying about the future is the most common cause of anxiety and fear. This can affect our 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.
🍁It is very important to address and resolve the issue of overthinking, as this can develop into a strong habit, and can limit one’s ability to 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭—thus making it difficult to enjoy the moments of life and trust in one’s own judgment.
Step-wise guidance
Mindfulness
➤Start by practicing 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 to stay in the PRESENT moment, and break the cycle of dwelling on past or future. Visit to learn more & practise 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴: https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/
Replace
➤Challenge negative thoughts by questioning their validity and reframing them with "positive" perspectives and possibilities. Expect 'positive' outcomes by having 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 on yourself, your good karma, and on God. Replace every single negative thought with a 'positive' thoughts and practise self-affirmations to enhance self-image. Refer: Affirmations Guide⇗
Activity
➤Establish a daily routine that includes some form of 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 including walking and running—𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 from unwanted thoughts. Even morning and evening walks greatly help us to free our mind, improve health, and be inspired.
Limit Triggers
➤Stop consuming or limit the triggers like social media, negative news, or draining conversations. Instead, focus on activities that bring you 𝐣𝐨𝐲 and direct you to your 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞. Be aware and 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚏𝚞𝚕 of what you 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝—as this shapes and guides your life.
Write A Diary
➤Journaling your thoughts can help you gain 'clarity' and let go of mental clutter. Also, writing down is a form of 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 your thoughts, which in turn helps you 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝙶𝚘𝚍. Diary writing (as to my own personal experience) is a very effective way for 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵.
Relaxation
➤Relaxation techniques like 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 and 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 fosters a calm and stable mind. Most importantly, keep 'patience' with yourself—healing takes time and consistency. Follow the links to: Learn Meditation, and full audio playlist of Relaxing Nature Sounds⇗
———————————
➕We have given detailed guidance on 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝘼𝙣𝙭𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 & 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 in this published forum.
and
➕Get Support through this 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐫𝐚 thread: "Help on Overthinking">> https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-stop-overthinking-about-the-past-and-future
————————————
𝐵𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈...
Oᑎ ᘜOᗪᒪY SᗴᖇᐯIᑕᗴ,
𝕸𝖆𝖓𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖗, 𝕾𝖆𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖍𝖆𝖓, 𝕾𝖍𝖎𝖛 𝕭𝖆𝖇𝖆 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝕴𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 (SBSI)
Was this helpful?
Yes, thank you :))
No :(