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Ever find yourself losing hours of time, sleep, or peace because you’re consumed by your thoughts? This post is for you!
When I was younger I went through a ton of health challenges that took a huge toll on my mental health.
I didn’t know how to break free of the ruminating swirl of negative thoughts that were constant.
I felt like so many things had happened to me.
That I had no choice and the physical pain I was in was only going to get worse from there.
It became so bad that I contemplated suicide.
A question I never want another human to ask themselves.
Our mind is such a powerful tool that can be used as a force of good or bad if we allow it to run the show without any intervention.
It means so much to me to have this conversation so that you don’t get stuck in those thought ruts that can lead to dangerous places.
Reading this blog and applying these tools does not mean that you’ll never over-think again.
It does mean that you’ll have more tools to spot when it’s happening faster, have more choice, and tools to to shift the pattern.
Over-thinking can show up in a multitude of areas:
- looking in the mirror and picking yourself apart
- hyper-focusing on specific behaviors in your kids or partner
- making a mistake and replaying it over and over again
- trying to make sense of world events
- fixating on something a client, boss, or co-worker said to you
The more that we over-think the more that we warp reality by deleting and distorting certain pieces of our memory.
Experiment with the following ways to begin getting out of your head and into the present moment so you can live this life to the fullest!
First: Build Awareness
Awareness creates choice. Without awareness it’s impossible to change.
How do you know you’re over-thinking? When you snap out of that thought train, what sensations are present in your body?
Do you feel heavy, tense, or constricted? Is your stomach in knots? Are your shoulders hiked up around your ears? Is your jaw clenched?
The quicker that you are able to notice what’s happening in your body, the faster you’re able to make a choice to stay in rumination or take a step to move forward.
As you explore unleash your curiosity! Judgement is the number one way to accelerate a negative thought pattern.
“Hmmmm…I notice my stomachs upset. My jaw is clenched. I’m barely breathing.”
Ways to Bring Yourself Into The Present Moment:
- Breath Work
- Tapping
- Essential Oils
- Notice Your Surroundings
- Movement: Tony Robbins says it best, “Motion creates emotion. Changing your physiology means changing your mental state and breaking your negative patterns.”
Second: Be At Choice
You might not know exactly how you are going to move forward, but you have the choice to stay in rumination or explore tools that will help shift your state.
Ask: What is the positive intention of this thought coming up right now? How might it be protecting love, safety, or belonging with my loved ones?
Some of the meanest thoughts directed towards ourselves often have a really loving intention behind them.
When we understand the intention behind a thought, we can separate the negativity and grip the thought has on us so we have space to make a choice.
In this moment I love to thank the negative thoughts and parts of myself that felt like they were protecting me with those specific thoughts.
Then we can focus on asking ourselves,”What would I like to be feeling right now instead? What actions will help generate these feelings?”
These are foundational tools to help us build awareness and assess so we can pick empowered action to move forward.
Things may not radically change the first time you try this – continue experimenting and cycling through this process!
The better you become at understanding the signals from your body and how they are related to your thoughts, the better you’ll become at shifting out of these patterns.
Always rooting for you,
Samantha