Brain on Porn (Social #2), DeYtH Banger [good books to read for 12 year olds .txt] 📗

that you are not your brain! - is that we often take those initial brain-based thoughts, urges, emotional sensations, impulses and desires at face value and assume they must be true...

They suggests a four step plan to moving on:

 

Relabel the ideas you're overthinking ("self-doubt," "anxiety," etc) Reframe your experience and identify your thinking errors Refocus your attention on the part that matters Revalue your brains messages with the new information

 

After running through these four steps, you'll often realize just how often your brain has no idea what it's doing. With a little bit of distance, you can figure out why you're overthinking an idea, close the loop, and move on.

We're all going to overthink, overanalyze, and waste a lot of our days inside our own brains sometimes. The trick, really, is about minimizing those thoughts and making them as productive as possible so they don't get in the way.

 

Types of Positive Self Talk During Anxiety Attacks

 

 

Anxiety attacks are moments of intense anxiety that are seemingly impossible to control. Your mind races with negative thoughts - many of them health related, although not always - and you can't help but feel as though something terrible is about to happen. Anxiety attacks can be so draining that they can actually cause temporary depression.

Once you're having an anxiety attack they can become very hard to control. But some people find that the best thing they can do is known as "positive self-talk," which is when you use the power of your words to overcome your anxiety.

 

 

 

How Self Talk Works

 

 

Positive self-talk is beneficial because for reasons that are not quite clear scientifically, your mind tends to adapt to the words you say. It sounds almost nonsensical - and it actually takes quite a bit of practice - but for some reason when you say positive things to yourself long enough, those things start to become a reality.

Self-talk also has the added benefit of simply being distracting without negative consequence. One of the best ways to eventually stop and cure anxiety is simply distraction. The less you're able to focus on negative, anxiety fueling thoughts, the more they seem to go away.

 

Types of Self-Talk

 

There is actually more than one kind of self-talk, and more than one way to perform that self-talk. The key is to make sure that you're always positive (genuinely - not passive aggressive) and that you're saying things to yourself that represent the way you want to feel. Types include:

 

Affirmations

 

This is perhaps the most common type of anxiety-self talk there is. Affirmations are positive phrases that represent the control you want to have over yourself. For example:

"I am not controlled by my anxiety." "I am better than my anxiety." "Nothing is wrong with me. I have anxiety, and that's okay."

There are literally thousands of affirmations, because there's no such thing as a bad affirmation. It simply has to be something that you're determined to believe and feel, even when anxiety tells you something else. It needs to be positive, uplifting, and you need to be proud to say it.

The greatest issue standing in the way of affirmations is embarrassment. We live in a pretty cynical world, and people don't like the idea of talking to themselves and saying positive statements that go against how they feel in an effort to find relief from their anxiety. Because of that, affirmations rarely work right away, because as you're saying them at first, you're often letting the voice in the back of your head tell you that what you're doing is silly.

But if you can commit to them and keep at them, eventually it will start to feel more normal, and you may find that these affirmations provide you with some much needed relief.

 

Distracting Memories

 

Some people decide to take it a bit further. Rather than repeat phrases to themselves, they instead want talk to themselves and remind themselves about amazing experiences they have or happy moments they want to remember. This type of focus - where you think about things other than your anxiety and stress - can be very powerful for overcoming your anxiety attack issues, and may overwhelm your mind in a positive way with good feelings so that the negative feelings don't control you.

 

Problem Solving

 

Not all positive self-talk is in the form of happy phrases or even happy stories. Some are simply a type of problem solving that you love to do.

For example, if you're someone that loves to solve math problems (and doesn't everyone love to solve math problems?) then perhaps you'd like to create math problems in your head and try to solve them. Or maybe you're someone that likes poetry. Perhaps you can try to remember poetry and say it to yourself.

Remember, anything that distracts your brain is a positive. It's not just the positive principles of self-talk that are important, or the way you feel (though those both play a role) - it's also about simply making sure you're finding some way to put your mind on something else.

 

Using Self Talk Strategies

 

Talking to yourself always seems unnatural at first. But your biggest supporter is you, and your brain is designed specifically to try to adapt to reduce stress and make you happier. So consider using these self-talk strategies to start making a real difference in the way you see your anxiety and how you adapt to it. You may find that it's just what you need to make your anxiety attacks weaker, and overcome them easier.

You should also take my free anxiety test now. This test was made to help people just like you learn more about their anxiety and find successful ways to overcome it.

 

 

How To Stop Overthinking And Overcome Anxiety Now

 

 

Overthinking is as debilitating as it is common. It can stop you from enjoying social events, disturb your sleep, undermine your job performance and even ruin your vacations. Typically, it also comes with all the physical discomforts of anxiety. This means that overthinking leaves you not only mentally distressed but also exhausted. If this picture sounds familiar, you’re probably desperate to work out how to stop overthinking your life and start living. However, you may have already tried to change and found it an insurmountable hurdle.

It’s important to know that learning how to overcome anxiety is possible. Whether you’re trying to figure out how to stop overthinking in a relationship, how to stop obsessive thinking about your health or how to enjoy socializing without panicking, there are powerful techniques you can learn. Let’s explore how to stop overthinking, first by defining the problem and then by looking at the most effective solutions.

 

What Is Overthinking Disorder?

 

So, what exactly is overthinking disorder? We all get sucked into obsessive thoughts sometimes, but when this starts to consume our lives it turns into a serious, chronic problem. Some people are more likely than others to suffer this problem. For example, those with a history of anxiety disorder. After all, scientists know that overthinking activates the same parts of the brain that are involved in fear and anxiety.

 

However, even if you don’t have a history of mental health difficulties, you might be prone to overthinking if you consider yourself a “problem-solver”. Your greatest asset, an analytical mind, can easily become an enemy when you get stuck in a loop of unproductive thoughts. In addition, high levels of uncertainty can trigger the overthinking disorder. For example, if something dramatic has changed in your life or you have experienced a major loss, your mind may start to spiral in the direction of unproductive obsessiveness.

 

Overthinking Symptoms And Signs Of Anxiety

 

It’s useful to have a definitive list of overthinking disorder symptoms. This allows you to identify when you are really getting into dangerous territory for your mental health. Looking at the following symptoms can help you conduct an overthinking disorder test.

 

You can’t sleep.

When you try, you just can’t turn off your mind, and you begin to feel agitated by worries or doubts.

You self-medicate.

Studies on overthinking disorder suggest you might turn to drugs, alcohol, food or other external ways of regulating your emotions. This is because you don’t feel able to calm down using our internal resources.

You’re always tired.

This may be from insomnia, or just from the constant loop of your agitated thoughts.

You want to control everything.

You try to plan every aspect of your life, down to the last detail. This is the only way you feel safe, but it never quite works (because it’s impossible to control everything).

You obsess about failure.

You tend to be a perfectionist and often imagine how awful it would be to fail in any way. This fear of failure often paralyzes you, preventing you from learning from any mistakes.

You fear the future.

Instead of being excited by all you’ve yet to accomplish and experience, you are trapped in your own anxiety about what could go wrong.

You don’t trust your own judgment.

You second-guess yourself on everything from what you’re wearing to where you’re going, what you’re saying and how you come across to others. You may rely on others to reassure you that your judgment is sound.

You get tension headaches.

These feel like a tight band around your temples, and you might also notice pain or stiffness in your neck. Chronic tension headaches are a sign that you desperately need a rest.

 

5 Ways To Stop Overthinking Now

 

Overcoming obsessive thoughts requires an action plan. If you want to stop overthinking, you need to find straightforward techniques that work, and repeat them until they become second nature. You may also benefit from therapy or medical interventions if your anxiety is especially debilitating, but you can use practical exercises in conjunction with these treatments.

Here are five of the best ways to overcome anxiety and put a stop to your relentless loop of thoughts. As you get used to them, you can adapt and adjust them to suit you.

 

1. Be Aware Of Your Thought Process And Anxiety Triggers

 

 

Obsessive overthinking is different for everyone, so it’s vital to know your anxiety unique triggers. It helps to cultivate a deeper level of awareness of your overthinking, asking questions about why and when it occurs.

Start paying closer attention to your thought processes, and notice when you’re thinking in an unproductive way. Note down what you’re thinking, and the form it takes.

For example, are you replaying a previous conversation on a loop, analyzing it for your failures? Alternatively, are you picturing future disaster scenarios in your imagination? In addition, write what you think instigated the overthinking. Was it something to do with a social interaction? Uncertainty? Going to a new environment?

Your notes will quickly help you pick out specific triggers for your anxiety. This gives you ammunition to challenge the underlying limiting beliefs through reflection or journal work. In time, you will be able to preempt triggers before they cause a serious episode of overthinking, intervening with some of the further techniques listed below. Eventually, the hope is that the triggers will also become less powerful because you’ll understand their origins and know how to fight back in your mind.

 

2. Stop Overthinking With These Organization Tips

 

One of the best ways to stop overthinking is to harness new practical ways of dealing with life’s challenges. In particular:

Adopt a wider perspective. When something is bothering you, ask yourself: will this matter in a year? How about a month? How about a few weeks? Often, you’ll find it won’t matter even a month down the line. This can help you relax. Make time-limited decisions. For example, you might give yourself five minutes to decide about something minor (e.g. whether you’re going to some housework or whether you’ll go to the gym today). Meanwhile, you might take at most half an hour to decide on a bigger issue like whether to give a presentation or attend a big social event. Take breaks throughout the day. Reduced overall anxiety levels by taking regular breaks to do calming things (e.g. 10 minutes of meditation, 30 minutes of reading a fiction book or 20 minutes of walking in the park). Minimize overwhelming input. It’s also helpful to set time limits on things like working with emails, reading social media etc. If one of your triggers is this