What do you do when your mind plays tricks on you? It just keeps telling you, “Don’t be too sure of yourself?,” “Watch out for him?,” “It’s time to start worrying now.” Things you know are insane but you just can’t seem to push them away. What do you do when you start to believe those thoughts?

For the past few years, I have been struggling with the habit of overthinking–and that’s exactly what it is. A habit. A nasty little habit, I just can’t seem to break. I overanalyze every little thing, to the point of exhaustion. I coerce myself into thinking there’s always a catch when there very well might not be one. I do this, almost matter of factly; a second nature, so to speak.

Is it just me, or is it always easier to give people advice, rather than to take your own? I feel like if someone were to tell me they were overthinking, I would tell them: “Don’t worry. You’re just reading too much into it. Take a breath. Everything is fine.” But, how come when it’s me thinking too much, I just can’t seem to snap out of it.

How come it’s always easier when your not the one receiving the advice?

A mind is a powerful place. When you allow yourself to sit in your thoughts for too long, it’s easy for your thoughts to run wild. The art is taking a step back and think about how you feel when you have a never-ending sea of racing thoughts. Is it good or is it unsettling? And, how do you feel when you’re at ease?  Would it be easier, then, to pull yourself up and snap out of the nonsense nature of your thoughts?

I know how it feels to overanalyze the smallest things. Horrifying and sickening. The knot in my stomach at that point just keeps getting tighter and tighter until I feel like I’m about to throw up. Hell, I don’t want to feel this way. I would much rather take things one step at a time and think through my thought before immediately shutting down and drowning in it.

So how can one get to that point of being present and grounded in one’s thoughts?

I suppose the art of self-positive talk can help me when I continuously question everything. When I get a thought and I just can’t seem to store that thought away and be done with it; when I instead, overdramatize that thought, I need to talk myself through what I’m feeling. Why this thought? What is so different and unique about this thought that I took so much time to question it? Dig deep down and figure out what it is you’re scared of, and then decide if it’s something worth the fear.

I need to be solid and firm in my capabilities to grow in the direction I need to be. I need to mold my mind to be grounded and at ease. I need to realize I’m so much more than my anxiety tells me so.