People often find themselves saturated by the large number of thoughts that lurk daily. When this happens, high stress levels often appear, since this excess of ideas prevents the person from relaxing, even during moments of rest. Likewise, in many situations in everyday life we anticipate future situations that may or may not occur. In general, this denotes a considerable expenditure of energy that could be directed to other purposes. Have you ever spent sleepless nights because your mind couldn’t stop thinking about a stressful event? Do you know anyone who lives with constant worries that prevent them from enjoying the present? If you feel identified, you will surely find reading this article interesting.
In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about how to stop thinking so much.
Make a list of ideas
Constant thoughts that don’t stop may be due to a lack of organization. In these cases, one of the keys to organizing ideas is create a list of information including, for example, important situations or events that cause stress, fears or obligations. This will allow you to relieve the tension caused by the stress of not stopping thinking.
Practice physical activity
Sports practice is a fundamental tool that Enables physical and emotional well-being. In situations that cause difficulty in stopping thinking, it is recommended to perform some physical activity that the person likes since this produces the hormone linked to happiness.
In addition, the exercise requires the person’s concentration for its correct execution.
Go to psychological therapy
When thoughts constantly torment the person and prevent them from carrying out daily activities, the most important suggestion is to go to a mental health professional to start psychological treatment. This approach will provide tools to reduce the intensity of thoughts.
Carry out artistic activities
Art can be presented in multiple forms, since it is not possible to limit it to a single activity. Therefore, here we can include activities such as theater, music, painting or sculpture, among others.
Therefore, given the fact that the person cannot stop thinking, carrying out an artistic activity of interest is indicated since said energy is redirected towards another area. Consequently, a cessation of overwhelming thoughts may occur.
Breath deeply
High levels of tension are linked to muscle contractions that cause discomfort to the body. For this same reason, a person who is worried and can’t stop thinking usually has muscular difficulties. This way, inhale and exhale deeply continuously until you achieve relaxation is another tool to stop thinking so much about situations that cause discomfort.
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To meditate
It is possible to get a relaxed state of mind and body by carrying out certain actions, including meditation, which can be guided by an instructor or done independently.
In general terms, it consists of appealing to concentration based on the present through breathing and will help worrying thoughts subside.
Understand that constant thoughts will not provide solutions
Understanding that constantly thinking about everything will not bring any type of solution can be another alternative that allows a mental break and stop thinking so much about everything.
People who cannot stop thinking try to find solutions to the problems that appear in these situations. However, this is counterproductive, as simply thinking about the problem will not provide answers or relief.
Act
In relation to the previous point, recurring thoughts do not lead to any favorable outcome. For this reason, people who cannot stop thinking try to find relieving answers that never appear.
In this way, if a thought has its resolution in carrying out an action, it is necessary to stop postponing it to release accumulated tensions.
Accept and let go of thoughts
Accepting and letting go of thoughts consists of understanding that certain thoughts are part of us, so we must accept your presence. It is not about trying to eliminate them, since that would imply excessive effort, but rather understanding that they will be there for a limited time and then they will lose consistency.
If we appeal to the belief that ideas can leave in the same way that a person leaves a place, this can be of great help in these cases.
Talk to someone else
If an idea does not stop circling our mind, it is necessary that we take some action so that its intensity decreases. In fact, the simple act of talking about that situation that generates uncertainty, fear, anger and/or other emotions is effective since a catharsis is produced.
In this sense, it may be advisable to resort to talk to a trusted person about what is happening to us.
Eat a healthy diet
Certain foods contain properties that calm the central nervous system. Thus, follow a healthy diet based on how green vegetables, fish, olive oil, fruits and legumes can cause the relaxation effect that occurs in the body to influence constant thoughts. To achieve this, it is necessary to consume healthy products every day.
Likewise, there are relaxing herbs such as valerian, lemon balm, chamomile or lavender that can also help us stop thinking so much.
Read
Reading is a habit that can bring many benefits to people’s lives. On the one hand, it promotes general knowledge based on the information we get from books, academic texts and news.
On the other hand, reading requires mental concentration in front of what we are reading, so it is possible that the rest of the thoughts cease while reading.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
Bibliography
- Payás Puigarnau, A. (2008). Psychological functions and treatment of obsessive rumination in grief. Magazine of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 28 (102), 307-323.