Is Overthinking Quietly Destroying Your Daily Life? Are you serious on fixing it permanently?

Do you find yourself trapped in a loop of thoughts that just won’t let you be?
Does your every day get drowned into the knowing-doing gap?
Does your intrusive thoughts affect your naturally falling asleep?

Don’t just talk about how big your problems are.
Talk about how determined you are to solve it 100%.

You are not alone. Millions today are under the grips of overthinking. It might seem harmless at first, but over time, it can stealthily disrupt your daily life in ways you never imagined.

Ways in which Overthinking wrecks your daily life?

1. The Quiet Intruder: Picture this: You’re lying in bed, ready to sleep, but your mind is replaying conversations from the day. You analyze every word, every gesture, searching for hidden meanings. This is overthinking, and it’s a sneaky intruder that often slips into our lives without invitation.
2. The Vicious Cycle: Overthinking creates a vicious cycle. You start by mulling over a single thought – maybe a decision you made or something you said. Then, the more you dissect it, the more details you uncover to worry about. You fall deeper into the rabbit hole of your thoughts, and suddenly, a minor concern becomes an all-consuming anxiety. Analysis Paralysis.
3. The Time Thief: Have you ever realized how much time you lose to overthinking? Hours can vanish as you analyze and re-analyze situations. This not only leaves you mentally exhausted but also steals time from activities you love or need to do. Overthinking becomes a thief that robs you of your precious moments.
4. Strain on Relationships: Overthinking doesn’t just affect you; it seeps into your interactions with others. Constantly second-guessing yourself can lead to hesitation in conversations. Your mind races, wondering if you’ve said the right thing, which often makes you miss the actual conversation happening in front of you.
5. Diminished Decision-Making: Overthinking can paralyze your decision-making abilities. Simple choices turn into complex puzzles, and you’re left feeling overwhelmed by the weight of every possible outcome. The fear of making a mistake can lead to indecision, preventing you from moving forward. The Knowing Doing Gap.

Let’s quickly look at the stages of overthinking that’s gone past normal levels-

Is overthinking incurable?
Not at all. In fact the very reason a person gets dragged into overthinking are not always his or her own doing, and can be traced to:

1. 1. A totally messed up society – with expectations, chaos, unnecessary pressure and unrealistic narratives. e.g. The unbelievable and unreal Beauty Standards – the constant prying eyes on people with a certain shape and size; running a race not knowing why; constantly talking about self-help, taking no concrete action.
   2. Perfectionism – tend to avoid making mistakes for fear of criticism – constantly living in fear.
   3. Fear of the unknown – uncertain situation or outcome – while this natural to the human body but when not watched it hijacks one’s natural sense of well being.
   4. Past Traumatic Experiences – what if it repeats again, attachment to the past memory – this is absolutely unavoidable and for no valid fault of one’s own conduct. While this is unfortunate but only through acceptance and not denial, followed by proper action can this be countered.
   5. Major Life Transitions – death, end of a relationship, sudden layoffs in the industry, moving country or familiar environment – fear of being left alone. Also natural to a human. However, if we are already practising not being attached this might not cause further overthinking.

Breaking Free from Overthinking

The good news is that you can break free from the clutches of overthinking. It requires practice and patience, but the rewards are worth it. The steps mentioned below will steadily lead you to establishing yourself in the natural stability of your body, as you prepare your body and mind with discipline to remain in presence and allow, simply allow. Steadying up your nervous system.

1. First, one must train in Yoga Postures from an authentic yoga teacher. This must be a lifestyle and instilled into our societal structure. Till this is not happening one must make conscious efforts to practice yoga daily.
2. You want to seriously fix your overthinking? Read the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali and dedicate 30 – 60 minutes every day understanding the concepts explained to understand how your mind works in a simple way. Haven’t you already over complicated things with complex theories from the internet? Don’t aim to win every dinner table argument on mental health and sleep poor. Lose the argument, sleep better and wake up fully alive.
3. Mindfulness techniques – Conscious Focussing on the movement of the Breath; Pratyahara – turning inwards, will help you stay present and prevent your mind from wandering into the abyss of unnecessary thoughts.
4. Step 1 is to enhance your body awareness so that your breathing gets more balanced and your body is quiet. Step 3 is to establish yourself deep into your body. Only then can you sit for dhyAna. The ultimate solution to your every problem – as this enhances your action taking abilities.
5. Embracing Imperfection – Remember, life is imperfect, and so are we. It’s okay to make mistakes and have moments of uncertainty. Instead of over analyzing every detail, focus on learning and growing from your experiences.
6. For the not so common Humans – we are all born with natural qualities, tendencies or Gunas. At times some of us are born with natural meditative awareness. You may directly start dhyAna. Even then, Yoga Postures under the guidance of a true Yoga Practitioner, will take you miles ahead, faster. 
7. Always remember Bhakti, or devotion comes from true surrender. You don’t have to believe in a certain religion, deity or a theory. Can you simply surrender to your Natural Breath? For that is the only phenomena that is keeping you constantly alive. And your Ego mind knows this is also valid with logic. So go ahead and embrace freedom.

Final Thoughts

Overthinking might be a quiet wrecking ball, but it’s not invincible. By recognizing its patterns and employing strategies to manage it, you can regain control over your thoughts and your life. Take a deep breath, let go of the unnecessary worry, and make room for the beauty of the present moment. Create more SPACE and give your best to retain that space totally free.

Here’s to a life with less overthinking and more living.

Until next time,
Kamalika
Mindfulness & Clarity Coach
Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Book reference:

1. Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Commentary by Swami Vivekananda
2. Light on Yoga Sutras : B.K.S. Iyengar

• Sharing a youtube link that helped me go through the Yoga Sutras with proper translation:
  4 Chapters of Patanjali Yogasutras

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