How To Get Your Mind To STFU

One of the most annoying things in the world is having a conflict with your own thoughts. You know that overactive, overthinking brain of ours that just won’t shut the f*ck up when we’re trying to find peace with a situation or feel confident about a plan or decision. I have seriously asked myself how the hell do I shut off the constant pondering over possible outcomes, potential problems, what ifs, buts, and maybes? It feels like I am driving myself crazy.

At one point, my mind chatter got so bad and distracting that I decided to google “how to quiet my mind” to find a solution to the internal tourture. When I first read the results from the search, I thought the suggestions were cheesy, uninteresting, and far from anything that I wanted to do. But after 2 more days of incessantly agonizing overthinking and stress, I decided to take a second look at the list of 10 suggestions from one of the blogs from my search results. I tried a few of their suggestions, read others and knew damn well I wasn’t doing them, LOL. So, I figured that I would share what the blog Serenity Waters recommended and offer my $.02 on what worked best for me.

Recommendations are from this blog here, credit to Serenity Waters: (https://serenitywatersspa.com/blog/10-ways-to-quiet-your-mind/)

10 Ways To Quiet Your Mind:

1. Exercise - Nope. Sorry. I ain’t tryin’ it. Not because I don’t exercise (I am one of those people who hop on and off the “exercise and get fit” wagon like a new york subway), but because I am not consistent enough with exercising to make this a solution to my overthinking dilemma. Also, personally, I do not enjoy exercise. When I do go to the gym, I have to force myself to go. I certainly did not want to try to remedy one problem with having to force myself to do something else I don’t necessarily like to do. That’s a double whammy of crap that I can honestly do without! So, for me, exercise was a no-go!

2. Meditate - Yes! Yes! And more Yes! I used to meditate regularly and I stopped. Mediation is not easy when you first start because it is the practice of learning how to observe your thoughts without judgment. It assists you in getting in tune with your higher self. It centers you and helps to reduce anxiety, stress, and guess what else… Overthinking! I have to admit, trying it again for the first time in years was a challenge. I had trouble getting my mind to slow down the thoughts and I felt restless and fidgety. But, the clarity that meditating provided me as an after effect was helpful. I will continue to meditate and incorporate it as a daily habit.

3. Write a List - Yup! If you know me, you KNOW how many journals, notebooks, writing pads, and planners I have. Writing helps me to dump all the stuff that’s in my head onto a piece of paper, which inadvertently frees up my mind. It feels like an energy transfer, letting the paper take on the anxiety that the stuff in my head is creating.

4. Make or Create Something - Yes and No. Listen, I am a crafter and a content creator, so creating something is right up my alley. It gives me an opportunity to focus my energy on a task and engages the creative process which allows me to pull from consciousness. However, on the flip side - it doesn’t always work to stop the mind chatter because depending on how serious or pressing the issue(s) are that I am contemplating, I may not be able to focus on being creative. So, this suggestion is hit or miss - not one that I would say is dependable.

5. Declutter your space - Absolutely! I am a firm believer in “as above, so below” which means whatever is going on outside of you is a direct reflection of what is going on inside of you. So, if your space, house, office, car, bedroom etc, is cluttered, your mind is probably also cluttered. Clear out your space. Clean it up. Get rid of old things and belongings that you no longer use. Purge. Donate. Organize. It works.

6. Share what’s on your mind - F*ck Yeah! Speak up for yourself. Talk out your problems. Express what is bothering you, hurting you, pissing you off, distracting or disappointing you. One of the biggest reasons for overthinking is because there is something that you are holding on to that needs to be released. Holding it in, or holding on to it keeps an unwanted energy within you that is begging to be ejected. So, you’ll keep thinking about it, rehashing it, obsessing over it, talking about it to everyone other then the person that it involves, dumping the drama on undeserving people, reliving the shitty emotions that it creates, and the list goes on! If you are uncomfortable verbally communicating what’s on your mind, you can write it, text it, or email it as an alternative. Hell, make a video explaining it or record a voice memo, doesn’t matter - just SHARE it in what ever way is easiest for you at the moment.

7. Read a fiction book - Nada. Not for me. Only because I am not a fiction reader. My preference is to read personal development books. But, this is a great option if you enjoy reading and it gets your mind off of the mental “noise” for a period of time.

8. Make an action plan - Ok, so I can see how this is a great suggestion for some people so I will say, Yes! I recommend trying this as a solution to quieting the mind. But for me, it’s a NO. Reason being - I am a walking planner. I literally plan what I am going to wear when I leave the house, so planning, for me, is actually the cause of some of my anxiety. LOL

9. Get away from your phone - Hell to the YESSSSSSSS!!!! I am not even going to explain why this is a HUGE yes! You all should already know how much stress looking at your phone ALL day can cause. Seriously though, if you have an overactive brain, looking at your phone filled with emails, social media, texts, calendars, notes, to-do lists, apps, games, and every other god damn thing you can name under the sun; will just push your mind into severe overdrive. Put the phone down when you are overthinking because the last thing you need is to find something else to mentally chew on and obsess over.

10. Force yourself to focus - Abso F*ckin Lutely NOT! Personally, I think this is the worst advice. Well, for me, I can not force myself to focus. And if I do, whatever task or activity I completed during my “forced focus session” is probably not done well and will need to be done over. So, as opposed to forcing myself to focus, here are 2 things that I do when I NEED to get something done and am having trouble focusing.

    1. Take a walk - I just walk around the block, or if it’s cold out, I walk around the house from room to room a few times.

    2. Listen to a song that gets me motivated - There are a few songs that really make me feel like I can accomplish ANYTHING. If you have one, try turning it on when you are having a hard time focusing. Oh, and don’t forget to sing it really loud and perform like you are putting on a concert - major energy boost!

    3. Water plants, play with your pet, or light a candle - I know, that’s a few suggestions in one. But, some people don’t have plants or pets, so a candle will do! All of those things inspire nurturing, and nurturing is self care (yes, even when you are nurturing someone/something else).

So, that’s my two cents on another blog’s suggestions about how to quiet the mind. I hope you find one of these suggestions to be the STFU pill for your overactive brain. Overthinking can be super frustrating, but don’t beat yourself up, we ALL go through it. Let me know if these suggestions you’ve tried and if they work for you. I love to hear the feedback.

Talk to y’all soon!

Breeze Phoenix