Are you overthinking to the point of paralysis and fear? Is your mind filled with so many thoughts that you don’t know what to do next or how to handle it? If overthinking is causing you to struggle, you’ll be glad to know that it’s possible to find mental peace again.

You can learn to calm your mind, achieve greater focus, and find the direction that is right for you!

Larissa Brown, M.S., is an international life coach and founder of EmpowerME: Coaching & Workshops.

Avoid trying to silence your mind completely. You may wish that you could stop your thoughts altogether. However, this isn’t the best tactic for dealing with overthinking.

• The more you try to stop thinking, the more your thoughts will flow. The opposite of what you want actually starts to happen.

Understand that you’ll always have thoughts, all humans do. Take pressure off yourself by recognizing this is normal. Instead of trying to control having thoughts, you can achieve greater peace by learning to take control of what you think instead.

Avoid judging your thoughts. It’s tempting to get upset if you have negative thoughts or emotions. You may be quick to judge and try to squash them.

• Instead of judging and criticizing your thoughts, accept them as normal human emotions. Acknowledging them and then allow them to pass on. Recognizing that thoughts and feelings are temporary and will pass helps bring more inner peace than when you are internally fighting for control.
• It can also be helpful to remember that it is because of our darker thoughts and emotions that we are able to appreciate the positive ones. The downs in life are what allow us to know what happiness is.

Try to stay present. Overthinking often comes because you’re worried about the future or regret something that has already happened. You allow stress and anxiety to take over. You start imagining different outcomes, with most of them being negative, and you start living in fear.

• If you stay in the present moment, then fear can’t take over, and overthinking isn’t an issue. You’re able to focus on what you have to do each day to survive and thrive.

Be okay with the world. The word okay doesn’t mean perfection. It also doesn’t mean awful. It’s the balance between positive and negative. It’s the thin line between them that allows you to find mental peace.

• Being okay also means that you learn to accept what is happening in your life.

• Being okay may mean that you learn to love where you’re at and what you’re doing right now. You learn to appreciate what you have and the people around you. It’s important to find gratitude in the little things.

• You don’t have to pretend that negative things don’t exist, but you can avoid focusing on them. Center your attention on appreciating life and finding the opportunities that exist even in the darkest moments.

Your thoughts can save you, but they can also destroy you. Your mind can be a busy place, so it’s important to learn ways to manage your thoughts. Strategies like these can help you manage your overthinking and find peace.

You might also be interested in….