Are you a chronic OVERTHINKER and 5 ways to help!

I recently went on a girls weekend away and after a few bevvy’s we decided to play a card game. Alarm bells should ring right there! Haha. Anyway this card game involved asking deep meaningful questions that allowed you to supposedly get to know the person better.

The first question was great. It asked what life skill you could teach someone? We went around the circle and promptly added some fabulous traits that each individual could teach another person. We somehow went from what your positive traits were to what your negative ones were.

We are close friends so we could take it or so I thought.

When it came to my turn, my gf’s told me that I was an overthinker. I worried about scenarios that never happened and overanalysed things, blowing them up out of proportion. I graciously accepted my poison that night but then, as an overthinker does, I began analysing the feedback and you know what I couldn’t agree more. I am a chronic overthinker or at least I have been. 

According to Forbes health, research suggests that 73% of 25-35 year olds are chronic overthinkers, along with 52% of people aged 45-55. At least I’m not alone!

Overthinking can be awful. For me, it was easy to go to sleep but at 3am on the dot, I would wake up and run scenarios over and over in my head. I began the day exhausted because I just couldn’t put myself back to sleep from all the overthinking.

It was time to stop the constant brain loops, the worrying and putting my poor friends through hopeless scenarios that were never going to happen.

Here are the methods I currently use to stop overthinking, stop worrying and to get better sleep.

Let’s hope something hits a chord here for you too and you can gain some reprieve.

Life had gotten busy and I couldn’t remember the last time I'd read a good fiction book. I actually found Reese Witherspoon's book club on instagram and selected a few from her recommendations. Thank you darling Reece - lucky for me we were on the same page and I loved those books. I challenged myself to read 10 pages per night and before long, I was entranced in wonderful adventures that took my overactive mind off into another direction. You end up thinking about the story instead of dwelling on frivolity! 

Here are some of her book recommendations I loved and they might help your mind too:

• The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor jenkins Reid
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• The Girl in the Letter by Emily Gunnis

Why do we hate to move our body but when we do it, we feel so good. This is a game changer. And all you have to do is walk. I invested in some cute airpods and set off each morning listening to 80’s music or motivational books. 

It definitely stopped the overthinking process because once again, my brain was focusing on the stuff coming into it. I would generally get lost in the humour and conversations that not only lit up my soul but stopped my brain from being on a vicious loop. 

My favourite recommendations for motivational audio books are:

• Girl on Fire by Cara Alwill Leyba
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• Believe it by Jamie Kern Lima
• Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
• Year of Yes by Shona Rhimes
• You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

When we write it down and it’s in print, it is nowhere near as scary. When we put it on paper the emotion seems to subside. Just give yourself 10 minutes and write everything that is popping into your brain. Before you know it, it's right there and it all seems soooo logical. 

Why were you even worried about that? 

Once again this practice stops your thoughts from looping over and over and over. And it’s especially cool if you have a beautiful journal to write in…like our Heart Clutch one. :)

Take a beautiful bath with the full treatment. Light a candle, play some music, grab a glass of wine and put some exquisite bath salts into the running water. Lay back and let your worries evaporate. While you are in the bath say a few affirmations. I am free of fear, I am not my pain, I am powerful, I am living my truth, I am loved and valued. This practice will certainly put you in another head space.

If you don’t have time for the whole bath routine, try a shower with essential oils. Pick an uplifting scent and sprinkle on the bottom of your shower. Then burst the hot water onto the floor and quickly jump in and inhale all the inspiration from the oils. I love doing this in the morning. It puts an extra spark in your step. It seeps into my nose but somehow gets into my brain and miraculously clears my mind.

This one works wonders and definitely stops my mind from looping on certain thoughts over and over again, although you really wouldn’t think it helps that much but trust me it does. 

Make your space look sassy and sensual. 

Firstly put everything away and remove all clutter from benches, furniture and floors. Then wipe down all the benches with a natural earthy scent, dust everything, mop floors or vacuum carpets and then the fun part…decorate. 

Go outside and collect anything you can to put in vases. Just greenery will do. If you have the cash splash out on a beautiful bunch for yourself but if not, find it in nature. Fill a fruit bowl with all one colour fruit or the rainbow. Your aesthetic choice here. Add a few candles and light even if it’s in the daytime. 

The combination of the greenery, the fruit, the candles will take you to another place, make you feel enlightened and accomplished.

So there you have it my friends, 5 practices that have proven to work for me and have greatly reduced my chronic overthinking. Give one of them, some of them or all of them a whirl to see if they make a difference to your precious mind as well.

Let me know how you go through a DM to me at Sunbaked Zest insta.

Have a beautiful uncluttered peaceful sleep tonight Ladybugs.

Stay well. Stay happy. Stay authentically you!

SZ x.