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PHOBIA LIBRARY
Read up on fear, panic and phobia to get a general overview of phobias and trauma and fear management. Learn mindfulness based self care principles and exercises for managing phobias from my books on trauma and self care.
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Fear | Function | Thought | Treatment | Coping
For Help See: Fear in the Brain | Fear Dictionary
Fear | Function | Thought | Treatment | Coping
For Help See: Fear in the Brain | Fear Dictionary
THE LIBRARY TOPIC HOME PAGES
Introduction to Trauma, Fear and Phobia
Part 1: Defining Fear and the Fear Response
Part 2: Emotional & Cognitive Functions of Fear
Part 3: Maladaptive Thought Processing
Part 4: Professional Therapy & Mindful Self Care
THE PHOBIA COLLECTION DOWNLOADS
Browse Collection of Phobias by Topic
Download Collection of Phobias
Download Dictionary of Fear and Phobia
Download Self Care Guides for Coping
Introduction to Trauma, Fear and Phobia
Part 1: Defining Fear and the Fear Response
Part 2: Emotional & Cognitive Functions of Fear
Part 3: Maladaptive Thought Processing
Part 4: Professional Therapy & Mindful Self Care
THE PHOBIA COLLECTION DOWNLOADS
Browse Collection of Phobias by Topic
Download Collection of Phobias
Download Dictionary of Fear and Phobia
Download Self Care Guides for Coping
PART THREE - THOUGHTS
MALADAPTIVE THOUGHT PROCESSING
Articles defining thought, it’s processing, and the maladaptive thinking of cognitive malfunctions, psychological effects, overthinking and the delusions found within common delusional concepts and thoughts.
THOUGHT DIRECTORY
- It’s the Thought That Counts
- Maladaptive Thought Processing and Fear
- The Negativity of Negative Thoughts
- Spin the Positive Into Positivity
- Challenging the Cognitive Malfunctions
- The Psychological Effects of Thought
- Delusions and Delusional Thinking
- Overthinking the Overthinking
RELATED SELF CARE GUIDES BY KAIROS
View All Downloads
- Dictionary of the Mind and Brain
- The Complexity of Thought
- Glossary of Thought
- Uncovering the Traumatized Brain
- Riding the Crazy Train of Emotions
- Promoting Mindful Self Care
- Principles of Mindfulness for the Soul
- All Brain and Mind Glossaries
Phobia Home | Library Home | Topic Home
ALL CONTENT PROVIDED BY MY BOOKS ON MINDFUL SELF CARE FOR TRAUMA AND FEAR
Download for Free Here
Download for Free Here
OVERWHELMED BY overthinking
the OVERTHINKING
Overthinking involves ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Ruminating is rehashing the same things over and over. Overthinking is not the same as problem-solving. Problem-solving consists of thinking about a difficult situation when necessary while overthinking involves dwelling on the problem. Overthinking is ruminative not self-reflection. Self-reflection involves learning and gaining perspective about yourself and that is healthy and purposeful.
Overthinking hinders your ability to cope with panic, anxiety or fear. The longer you think about something or dwell on it or rehash it, the less time and energy you have for putting healthy coping methods into productive action. Obsessive thinking becomes a barrier.
Overthinking might be replaying a conversation in your head incessantly or imagining something bad happening many times. It may be rehashing what you don’t have control over and dwelling on how bad you feel about it. It does not help develop any insight into the situation. Overthinking increases anxiety and depressive symptoms, it aggravates OCD symptoms, and leads to attentional and focus issues.
Overthinking is ruminating about the what if’s or things you could have done differently. It’s second-guessing every decision you make and imagining all the worst-case scenarios. You might try to convince yourself that thinking longer and harder helps you. That looking at a problem from every possible angle is the best decision. Remember, overthinking is not problem solving because obsessive thinking blocks your ability to make the decision. If you present yourself 10 choices how will you pick one? In panic and anxiety attacks 10 choices will make increase your anxiety and soon you will have 15 choices or 20. Coping requires picking a method and taking immediate action. The physical toll is too much.
Overthinking is a special kind of fear. It becomes worse when adding anticipation, memory, imagination, emotion, distortions and delusions.
OVERWHELMED BY OVERTHINKING
Overthinking can take many forms.
When you consistently focus on ruminating and make it a habit, it becomes a loop, And the more you do it, the harder it is to stop.
Overthinking is destructive and mentally draining. It can make you feel like you’re stuck, worry if you don’t act, it will greatly impact your life. It can quickly put your health and total well-being at risk. Rumination makes you more susceptible to depression and anxiety. When we feel vulnerable about the future, we keep trying to solve problems in our head.
Overthinking is something that can happen to anyone. But if you have a great system for dealing with it you can at least ward off some of the negative, anxious, stressful thinking and turn it into something useful, productive, and effective. An overactive mind can make life miserable. Learning how to stop spending time in your head is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. Changing your destructive thought patterns can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. With practice, you can learn to change your perceptions.
Studies show that mindful meditation can ease psychological stresses, such as anxiety and depression. On this inward journey, focus on what you feel and sense at a particular moment.
Mindful Strategies to Overcome Overthinking
Practice awareness
Awareness is the beginning of change.
Before you can begin to address or cope with your habit of overthinking, you need to learn to be aware of it when it's happening. Mindfulness practice can help you do this. Any time you find yourself feeling stressed or anxious, step back and look at the situation and your response. If you see the error during awareness you can change it.
Practice recognition
You can't predict the future. No one can predict the future; all we have is the present moment. Mindfulness teaches us that right now is all we have. If you spend the present moment worrying about the future, you are not acting mindfully. The anxiety of tomorrow is not productive.
Practice Acceptance
The fear most of us have is that we feel we are not good enough, smart enough, hardworking enough or dedicated enough. Once you've given an effort your best, accept it as your best. Know success may depend in on some things you can't control. Let it go.
Mindfully connect with your senses
Control your ruminating habit by connecting with your senses. Begin to notice what you can hear, see, smell, taste, and feel. This is a grounding technique. The idea is to reconnect with your present and with everything around you. When you begin to notice, you spend less time in your head.
You can also notice your overthinking habit and talk yourself out of it. Becoming self-aware can help you take control.
Practice Gratitude
You can't have a regretful thought and a grateful thought at the same time. Every morning and every evening, make a list of what you are grateful for. Make them into affirmations. Repeat them to yourself daily.
Process the thoughts
Find a constructive way of processing your worries or negative thoughts. Write your thoughts down in a journal every night. They don’t have to be in any order; it is called a ‘brain dump.’ That can facilitate a sense of relief.
Talk yourself out of it
Take notice of when you’re stuck in your head. You can tame your overthinking habit if you start taking a grip on your self-talk — that inner voice that provides a running monologue throughout the day and even into the night. You can do this with mind.
Generate other interpretations of the situation to make your negative thoughts less believable. This is called cognitive restructuring.
Don't think of what can go wrong, but what can go right.
Overthinking is caused by a single emotion: fear. When you focus on all the negative things that might happen, it's easy to become paralyzed. Next time you sense fear then stop and visualize all the things that can go right and keep those thoughts present in your mind.
Distract yourself into happiness.
Sometimes it's helpful to have a way to distract yourself with happy, positive, healthy thoughts. Things like mediation, dancing, exercise, learning an instrument, or hobbies can distance you from the issues enough to shut down the overanalysis.
Put things into perspective.
It's always easy to escalate things into bigger and more negative thoughts. If you are “making a mountain out of a molehill,” ask yourself how much will it matter in five years? Or for that matter, next month? It’s a simple question that changes the time frame, and that can help shut down overthinking.
Stop waiting for perfection.
This is a big one. Being ambitious is great but aiming for perfection is unrealistic, impractical, and debilitating. The moment you think "This needs to be perfect" is the moment you need to remind yourself that perfection is never attainable.
Put a timer on it.
Give yourself a boundary. Set a timer for five minutes and give yourself that time to think, worry, and analyze. Once the timer goes off, spend 10 minutes with a pen and paper, writing down all the things that are stressing you. When the 10 minutes is up, throw the paper out, mindfully let it go and move on.
Use Visualization
Imagine a stop sign. If you’re obsessively thinking about something, it’s just a habit. Imagine a stop sign that is telling you — with love — that you need to stop and make a turn to being more productive. If your mind won’t let it go, schedule five uninterrupted minutes for non-stop overthinking. Then imagine the stop sign again and align it with the time. Then stop.
Taking the time to observe your mental patterns allows you to recognize which ones are counterproductive. You can also practice loving-kindness meditation. With this method, you start to channel a feeling of universal peace and acceptance toward yourself and others. Studies show that this practice can be particularly useful in dealing with social anxiety and may help you slow those wheels that are constantly spinning in your head.
Once you've made a final decision, create a ritual to help you accept it and move on. You might write down the choice you made on a slip of paper and toss it into the fireplace or tear it up and scatter it in the wind. Take a bath, and when you drain the water, imagine all your past choices swirling away. Even Cher couldn’t turn back time. All you can do is move forward with your clean, refreshed self.
It takes time and dedication, but you can stop overthinking and free your mind to enjoy more of the positive things in life and not fear of phobia. The key is to not give up. Practice different techniques, and give them time to work. As you navigate these new strategies, you have the potential to break your overthinking habit and take back power over your own thoughts.
Overthinking can take many forms.
- Endlessly deliberating when making a decision (and then questioning the decision)
- Attempting to read minds, trying to predict the future, or reading into the smallest of details, etc.
- Running different scenarios over and over in your head. Then criticize and pick apart what you said and did yesterday, feel terrified that you looked bad or panic about a terrible future that might await you. Overthinkers are fond of the ‘What ifs’
- You don’t sleep well because ruminating and worrying keep you awake at night. Ruminators repetitively go over events, asking big questions like “Why did that happen?” “What does it mean?” But younever find any answers.”
When you consistently focus on ruminating and make it a habit, it becomes a loop, And the more you do it, the harder it is to stop.
Overthinking is destructive and mentally draining. It can make you feel like you’re stuck, worry if you don’t act, it will greatly impact your life. It can quickly put your health and total well-being at risk. Rumination makes you more susceptible to depression and anxiety. When we feel vulnerable about the future, we keep trying to solve problems in our head.
- Extreme overthinking can sap your sense of control over your life. It robs you of active participation in everything around you.
- Chronic worriers show an increased incidence of coronary problems and suppressed immune functioning.
- Dwelling on the past or the future takes us away from the present, rendering us unable to complete the work currently on.
- Overthinking can trap the brain in a worry cycle. When ruminating becomes as natural as breathing, you need to quickly deal with it and find a solution to it. When an unpleasant event puts us in a despondent mood, it’s easier to recall other times when we’ve felt terrible. That can set the stage for a ruminator to work herself into a downward spiral.
Overthinking is something that can happen to anyone. But if you have a great system for dealing with it you can at least ward off some of the negative, anxious, stressful thinking and turn it into something useful, productive, and effective. An overactive mind can make life miserable. Learning how to stop spending time in your head is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. Changing your destructive thought patterns can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. With practice, you can learn to change your perceptions.
Studies show that mindful meditation can ease psychological stresses, such as anxiety and depression. On this inward journey, focus on what you feel and sense at a particular moment.
- Realize that whatever you fear most is not happening at present.
- Allow your thoughts to emerge free from judgment.
- Let them flow like a river while you sit quietly.
Mindful Strategies to Overcome Overthinking
Practice awareness
Awareness is the beginning of change.
Before you can begin to address or cope with your habit of overthinking, you need to learn to be aware of it when it's happening. Mindfulness practice can help you do this. Any time you find yourself feeling stressed or anxious, step back and look at the situation and your response. If you see the error during awareness you can change it.
Practice recognition
You can't predict the future. No one can predict the future; all we have is the present moment. Mindfulness teaches us that right now is all we have. If you spend the present moment worrying about the future, you are not acting mindfully. The anxiety of tomorrow is not productive.
Practice Acceptance
The fear most of us have is that we feel we are not good enough, smart enough, hardworking enough or dedicated enough. Once you've given an effort your best, accept it as your best. Know success may depend in on some things you can't control. Let it go.
Mindfully connect with your senses
Control your ruminating habit by connecting with your senses. Begin to notice what you can hear, see, smell, taste, and feel. This is a grounding technique. The idea is to reconnect with your present and with everything around you. When you begin to notice, you spend less time in your head.
You can also notice your overthinking habit and talk yourself out of it. Becoming self-aware can help you take control.
Practice Gratitude
You can't have a regretful thought and a grateful thought at the same time. Every morning and every evening, make a list of what you are grateful for. Make them into affirmations. Repeat them to yourself daily.
Process the thoughts
Find a constructive way of processing your worries or negative thoughts. Write your thoughts down in a journal every night. They don’t have to be in any order; it is called a ‘brain dump.’ That can facilitate a sense of relief.
Talk yourself out of it
Take notice of when you’re stuck in your head. You can tame your overthinking habit if you start taking a grip on your self-talk — that inner voice that provides a running monologue throughout the day and even into the night. You can do this with mind.
Generate other interpretations of the situation to make your negative thoughts less believable. This is called cognitive restructuring.
Don't think of what can go wrong, but what can go right.
Overthinking is caused by a single emotion: fear. When you focus on all the negative things that might happen, it's easy to become paralyzed. Next time you sense fear then stop and visualize all the things that can go right and keep those thoughts present in your mind.
Distract yourself into happiness.
Sometimes it's helpful to have a way to distract yourself with happy, positive, healthy thoughts. Things like mediation, dancing, exercise, learning an instrument, or hobbies can distance you from the issues enough to shut down the overanalysis.
Put things into perspective.
It's always easy to escalate things into bigger and more negative thoughts. If you are “making a mountain out of a molehill,” ask yourself how much will it matter in five years? Or for that matter, next month? It’s a simple question that changes the time frame, and that can help shut down overthinking.
Stop waiting for perfection.
This is a big one. Being ambitious is great but aiming for perfection is unrealistic, impractical, and debilitating. The moment you think "This needs to be perfect" is the moment you need to remind yourself that perfection is never attainable.
Put a timer on it.
Give yourself a boundary. Set a timer for five minutes and give yourself that time to think, worry, and analyze. Once the timer goes off, spend 10 minutes with a pen and paper, writing down all the things that are stressing you. When the 10 minutes is up, throw the paper out, mindfully let it go and move on.
Use Visualization
Imagine a stop sign. If you’re obsessively thinking about something, it’s just a habit. Imagine a stop sign that is telling you — with love — that you need to stop and make a turn to being more productive. If your mind won’t let it go, schedule five uninterrupted minutes for non-stop overthinking. Then imagine the stop sign again and align it with the time. Then stop.
Taking the time to observe your mental patterns allows you to recognize which ones are counterproductive. You can also practice loving-kindness meditation. With this method, you start to channel a feeling of universal peace and acceptance toward yourself and others. Studies show that this practice can be particularly useful in dealing with social anxiety and may help you slow those wheels that are constantly spinning in your head.
Once you've made a final decision, create a ritual to help you accept it and move on. You might write down the choice you made on a slip of paper and toss it into the fireplace or tear it up and scatter it in the wind. Take a bath, and when you drain the water, imagine all your past choices swirling away. Even Cher couldn’t turn back time. All you can do is move forward with your clean, refreshed self.
It takes time and dedication, but you can stop overthinking and free your mind to enjoy more of the positive things in life and not fear of phobia. The key is to not give up. Practice different techniques, and give them time to work. As you navigate these new strategies, you have the potential to break your overthinking habit and take back power over your own thoughts.
MORE ON THOUGHT PROCESSING
This content is provided for informational purposes only. Author is not a medical professional. Talk to your doctor to determine what therapy is right for you.
Self care techniques are meant to supplement professional treatment not replace it.
DISCLAIMER OF THE LEARNING LIBRARY
Self care techniques are meant to supplement professional treatment not replace it.
DISCLAIMER OF THE LEARNING LIBRARY
BROWSE PHOBIA COLLECTION
Phobia collection is presented in eight themed parts
VIEW LIST INDEX or JUMP TO A PART
PART [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ]
PHOBIA COLLECTION BY TOPIC
common ~ abstract ~ ordinary ~ bizarre ~ catastrophic ~ psyche ~ icky - academic ~ knowledge ~ education ~ literary ~ art ~ music ~ religion ~ political ~ law ~ order military ~ war ~ discrimination ~ science ~ chemical ~ energy ~ time ~ numbers ~ technology ~ nature ~ environment ~ astronomy ~ weather ~ geography ~ people ~ family ~ community ~ anatomy ~ medical ~ disease ~ emotions ~ senses ~ sensations ~ movement ~ conditions~ love ~ relationships ~ sexuality ~ lifestyle ~ places ~ events ~ objects ~ clothing ~ tools ~ vehicles ~ home ~ cooking ~ food ~ entertainment ~ sports ~ recreation ~ toys ~ games ~ monsters ~ characters ~ spooky ~ nightmares ~ delusional ~ joke ~ fiction
DOWNLOAD PONDERING THE PHOBIA
Now Available for Download for Offline Reading
All the phobias in one download. Browse by both topic/subject and by alphabetized list
Download/Share: http://bit.ly/ponderingphobia
OTHER PHOBIA AND FEAR DOWNLOADS:
Dictionary of Trauma, Phobia and Fear
Self Care Guides for Fear & Phobias
common ~ abstract ~ ordinary ~ bizarre ~ catastrophic ~ psyche ~ icky - academic ~ knowledge ~ education ~ literary ~ art ~ music ~ religion ~ political ~ law ~ order military ~ war ~ discrimination ~ science ~ chemical ~ energy ~ time ~ numbers ~ technology ~ nature ~ environment ~ astronomy ~ weather ~ geography ~ people ~ family ~ community ~ anatomy ~ medical ~ disease ~ emotions ~ senses ~ sensations ~ movement ~ conditions~ love ~ relationships ~ sexuality ~ lifestyle ~ places ~ events ~ objects ~ clothing ~ tools ~ vehicles ~ home ~ cooking ~ food ~ entertainment ~ sports ~ recreation ~ toys ~ games ~ monsters ~ characters ~ spooky ~ nightmares ~ delusional ~ joke ~ fiction
DOWNLOAD PONDERING THE PHOBIA
Now Available for Download for Offline Reading
All the phobias in one download. Browse by both topic/subject and by alphabetized list
Download/Share: http://bit.ly/ponderingphobia
OTHER PHOBIA AND FEAR DOWNLOADS:
Dictionary of Trauma, Phobia and Fear
Self Care Guides for Fear & Phobias
Phobia articles provided by my self care series Healing the PTSD Mind and my series on mindfulness based self care Be Mindful Be Well. These self directed guides are written from a trauma perspective but the content applies to the symptoms of phobia like fear and panic. Learn and simple self care techniques with mindfulness.
BE MINDFUL. BE WELL. TRY MINDFULNESS.
DOWNLOAD SELF CARE GUIDES FOR FREE
Books copyright 2021 by By Kairos
BE MINDFUL. BE WELL. TRY MINDFULNESS.
DOWNLOAD SELF CARE GUIDES FOR FREE
Books copyright 2021 by By Kairos
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Content by Kairos ~ @kairosoflife
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Original content © 2021 Copyright, Kairos
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
Collection of Vocabulary Books, Sites and Resources
Series Homepage | View Sites | Download Books
Words are also posted on twitter under the hashtags #beautifulwords and #wordoftheday and shared visually on pinterest bulletin boards
ABOUT SITE | SITEMAPS | SEARCH | FEEDBACK
Content by Kairos ~ @kairosoflife
Homepage | Portfolio | Contact
Original content © 2021 Copyright, Kairos
