How I Manage My Overthinking

I am not sure if I have ever mentioned point-blank that I tend to overthink… a lot.

Over the years, I’ve gotten better at noticing the cues, responding to them, and figuring out how to manage my overthinking so it doesn’t take over my mind and body the way it used to when I was in my early twenties. This post comes at a time when I just gotten through a really rough week. My mind was racing nonstop. It’s overwhelming at times and can feel like I have absolutely no control. For someone like me who thrives on control, it’s scary to feel like my life just slipped out of my hands.

Also, disclaimer: I’m not an expert on this topic; these are just the things that work for me.

Over the years, these are the things that have helped me:

Journaling
I have talked about my love for journaling on here multiple times, and I will vouch for it again. It truly is one of the best habits I ever formed during the start of COVID in 2020 — five years later, it’s still one of the best ways to get all the emotions and spiraling, crash-like thoughts onto a piece of paper. It’s therapeutic for me.

I am not a journaling expert by any means; I just write whatever is on my mind. If you Google, YouTube, or just browse social media, you will find some people like prompts, some like to write in the mornings, some at night, some once a week, etc. It truly is a practice you do for yourself, so find what works for you. I find writing first thing in the morning helps me clear my mind.

Working out
I did not start taking my physical health as seriously until my late twenties, at least not consistently. I have been consistent with my strength-based classes and now swimming. Out of everything on this list, working out is the one that has helped my overthinking the most. There is nothing like a good sweat session to stop the constant loop in my head.

Hanging out with friends and family who calm my nervous system
Not everyone is a safe place. The ability to recognize who calms your nervous system down and who makes it worse is a skill, and it doesn’t always happen overnight. It took me years to recognize, and then acknowledge, that my overthinking tendencies flare around my own extended family members.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to minimize my time and interactions with them. I’ve also learned to pick my battles while understanding that I cannot control another person’s behavior and sometimes I can’t avoid it either (we don’t cut off family — I’m desi, remember). That realization was crucial.

Spending time with friends and family who are safe places will bring you joy. If there is anything I have learned in this decade, it’s that your body knows, trust that gut feeling. There is a reason you feel queasy around someone, get headaches, or start overthinking your entire existence. Instead of staying and letting thoughts run in a loop, leave.

Listening to music and dancing it out
Nothing like an early 2000s Beyoncé song can help. Dancing with the music blasting is an underrated form of fun. Anytime I feel like I am too much in my head, need an escape, or just want to get up and do something, putting on music and dancing like I am the backup dancer for Beyoncé gets me out of my funk.

Some of my best ideas have come from thinking things through a million different ways, so I’m thankful for my beautiful, busy mind, and other times I just want to stop thinking. Between the current political climate, the state of our economy, and even climate change affecting Houston’s weather, it’s easy to get lost in these thoughts. That’s why I try to stay present and surround myself with people, habits, and activities that bring peace and calm. Journaling, working out, spending time with friends and family who feel like safe spaces, and dancing it out to music, this is what helps me.

What about you?