Worried you have a disorder for thinking too much? Overthinking is an anxiety symptom and – depending on the nature of your thoughts – can also be a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Today, I want to talk to you about overthinking – and more to the point, overthinking too much.
Related: Grounding meditation
Watch the video or continue reading below…
And it is – there’s a thing called OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which is when overthinking – what you’re thinking about – becomes sort of the only thing that you can think about and the thoughts kind of become intrusive.
It stops you from being able to concentrate on other things and it wakes you up through the night and really becomes very, very, overwhelming in your life. It really is a disorder for thinking too much.
Then there’s a lower level kind of overthinking which is just basically where you overanalyze things.
People who do this tend to just think twice, three times before taking action when it would take someone else not so long to think about it.
So, if overthinking is driving you nuts, you definitely need to do something about it before it becomes too overwhelming and before it strays into the domain of becoming an obsession which you don’t want.
Obsessions are still treatable and still able to get over but if you can gain control your overthinking before it becomes and obsession, then that’s what you want. So asking whether there is a disorder for thinking too much is a better idea sooner, than later.
Step 1: Separate yourself from the thought – it is a separate entity to you
So, the first thing that I want you to do is to be able to separate yourself from the thought of the thing that you’re overthinking about, before it becomes a disorder for thinking too much.
The way that I explain to people is this: When you’re overthinking, two things are happening.
One is the thought that you’re thinking about and two is the thinker which is you.
You are not your thoughts and your thoughts are not you.
You are simply thinking a thought in a moment.
That doesn’t mean that those thoughts are who you are.
So, this knowledge really gives you the ability to separate you and yourself from these thoughts.
When you get that separation, it gives you the distance that you need to be able to take control and be able to get past the overthinking – get past that paralysis that tends to come with overthinking and thinking too much.
So, realizing that you are not your thoughts and your thoughts are not you is the first step in beating this disorder for thinking too much.
Step 2: Don’t try to fight the disorder for thinking too much – just relax all resistance and flow with it
Once you’ve separated yourself from your thoughts, try not to fight the overthinking.
Many people try to stop the disorder for thinking too much by saying, “Fight it. Put the boundaries put, put the brakes on, put the skids on. I don’t want to think about this, I don’t want to think about this so much.”
And they get frustrated with themselves and that’s really not necessary and in fact, by fighting a thought, you actually make it worse and it’s more likely to become a disorder for thinking too much.
You make the thought stronger because resistance is what fuels anxiety.
Resistance is what tires you out and wears you down and that’s what allows the anxiety to come in and take over.
When you just drop the resistance to it, surrender it completely, relax all your muscles and just say, “Yep, I’m overthinking and I’m owning it. I’m not going to try to stop overthinking, I’m just going to let it happen because that is what’s going on right now.”
That’s when you take the wind out of the sails of the anxiety that’s powering the overthinking.
Anxiety can’t flourish and thrive unless you’re feeding it and resistance is what feeds anxiety.
So, by just saying, “Nope, that’s it. I accept what’s going on and I’m not going to fight it anymore,” that’s when you really get on the front foot and that’s when you really start to make those steps of being able to stop the disorder for thinking too much.
Step 3: Grounding – lots of grounding
Lots and lots and lots and lots of grounding. I’ll explain it to you: Grounding is taking your energy, bringing it into your body and then bringing that energy down through your body to connect with the core of the earth so it anchors you. Instead of your thoughts and feelings being scattered and all of your energy being everywhere, it brings everything into alignment and allows you to really bring yourself down and anchor yourself down and kind of weigh yourself down to that wonderful grounding energy of the earth. Grounding is a fantastic tool to bring you into the here and now and to focus you and to bring your thoughts and feelings onto the right track. If you just ground yourself in the morning and in the evening, you will start to notice a really amazing shift in the way that you’re approaching your thoughts. And you’ll notice just very gradually and very slowly that your overthinking will slow down over time, both in the amount of overthinking that you’re doing and the amount of time that it takes you to think before you take action on things as well. So, grounding will help you move forward from thinking too much and overthinking in your life.
Love + light
Eva xo