Anxiety and Overthinking

Naturally, Overthinking is the art of creating problems that doesn't exist. Nigerians are fond  of stressing their brains on irrelevant issues that only brings pains and depression on their well-being. Overthinking Disorder is the anxiety and overthinking everything, research has made us to understand that one of the horrible hallmarks of any form of anxiety disorder is  the tendency to overthink everything. The human brain is anxious and hypervigilant, always on the look out for anything it percieves to be dangerous or worrisome. I have been accused of making problems , where in reality there are actually no problems.To me though, there are indeed problems. Why? Because anxiety causes me to overthink everything in many different ways and the results of this overthinking isn't helpful at all.Fortunately, anxiety and ovethinking don't have to be a permanent part of over existence.

WAYS ANXIETY CAUSES OVERTHINKING

An effect of any form of anxiety is overthinking everything. There are common themes to the way anxiety causes overthinking. Perhaps this generic list will remind you of specific racing thoughts you experience and will  help you realize you are not alone in the room of overthinking everything because of anxiety.

1. Obessing over what we should say, should have said, didn't say.

2. Worrying incesantly about who we are and how we measure to the world we live in

3. Creating fearful what-if scenarios about things that would go wrong for ourselves, loved once and the world

4. Wild, imagined results of our own wild, imagined faults and incompetencies

5. Fear for having a panic attack in public and possibly thinking you can't leave home because of it

6. Worrying about alots of obessive thoughts, sometimes scaring once and thinking about them constantly.

7. Thinking, overthing a tumbling chains of worries, vague thoughts and specific thoughts.


RESULTS OF ANXIETY AND OVERTHINKING

With anxiety, not only are these thoughts (and more) running through our brains, but they are always running through our brains, non-stop, endlessly. Like a gerbil hooked up to an endless drip of an energy drink, they run and run wheeel around in one place, going absolutely nowhere. Day and night, wheel squeaks.

Anxiety and overthinking everything makes us both tired and wired. One result of the thinking too much that comes with anxiety is that we are often left feeling physically and emotionally unwell. Having these same anxious messages run through our head everywhere we go takes its toll.

Futher, another dangerous result of anxiety and overthinking everything is that we start to believe what we think. After all, if we think it, it's real, and if we think it constantly, it's very real. Right? No. This is a trick anxiety plays. Anxiety causes overthinking , but with anxiety, these thoughts aren't always trustworthy.

You have the power and the ability to interfere in anxiety's overthinking. It's a process that involves many steps , but a step you can take right now to slow down that gerbil process is to have something with you or around you to diver your attention. Rather than arguing with your thoughts or obsessing over them, gently shift attention onto something neutral. By thinking about something insignificant, you weaken axiety's ability to cause you to over think.


WAYS TO CONTROL ANXIETY AND OVERTHINKING

Basically, there are many ways in which anxiety and overthinking can be controled or reduced to it's minimal effects. I would like to talk on some few salient ways to achieve it.

1. Get some Exercises
 
Exercise like sleep is like pushing the reboot button of your mind. It has been one of the best way to refresh the state of human mind. You can't go on a jog or whatever form of exercise you chose without coming back in a different  state of mind. Personally, I find my anxiety and overthinking at worst when I have some calories that I haven't burned out.

Get outside for exercise and you will find out that mental tension and ovethinking are no longer an isssue when you get back home.

2. Breathe calmly

The tone and tenor of your breathing is a direct representation of your mental state. Go ahead and take 5 deep breaths in and out through your nose. You will notice a difference in how you think and feel. It is just as important as physical exercise and mental meditation.


3. Write out your thoughts

Have you heard of  ''Morning Pages" . This is a practice of writing three pages, completely unfiltered, each and every morning. Popularized by Julia Cameron, she calls Morning Pages "the bedrock of creative recovery"

Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of conciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages ------ they are not high art. They are not even "writing." They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind ---- and they are for your eyse only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort,cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tommorrow.

I find that writing out thoughts, at any time of the day, can unload the overthinking mind and help with focus and stress relief. What's cool about building up a habit of writing in the morning is that it can pre-empt the overthinking mind from ever rearing its ugly head later in the day.


4. Take a nap

Naps are underrated! Just like exercise, a  20-minutes nap works wonders. I like to take my naps in the afternoon, around 3pm, after drinking a healthy smoothie. I don't need to say mcuh more about naps, just give it a try.