UM Surabaya lecturers share tips on how to reduce overthinking so you don't get stressed easily

• 25 Aug
• 2022

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UM Surabaya lecturers share tips on how to reduce overthinking so you don't get stressed easily

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• By Uswah Sahal
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Thinking is part of the human life experience, but the habit of overthinking something that is unproductive (overthinking) can indicate that something is wrong within a person. Overthinking which appears very often can be an early signal indicating that someone is in a state of anxiety or worry.

Uswatun Hasanah, UM Surabaya Mental Nursing Lecturer, explained that basically overthinking is an alarm which is an automatic self-protection mechanism, which appears when individuals are in certain situations that focus on real problems such as health, finance, marriage, work, etc.

There's nothing wrong when someone thinks about it and wants the best for themselves, but it's not good when they just keep thinking about it unproductively without taking definite steps and causing excessive anxiety.

"Although overthinking or overthinking is not a mental disorder, overthinking can often cause prolonged stress which can eventually lead to mental health problems and affect one's well-being," said Uswatun Thursday (25/8/22)

According to his explanation in Thomas Ehring's research, 2021 states that thinking the same thoughts repeatedly can increase an individual's risk of experiencing certain mental health conditions. Overthinking due to anxiety can still be controlled and stopped by individuals.

According to Uswatun, the first thing that must be done, of course, is that someone must be able to recognize the situation that causes overthinking to appear and its symptoms, recognizing and being aware of the emergence of problems is the main key, so that when the same situation reoccurs we will avoid overthinking and can respond appropriately and adaptively.

"Furthermore, if the situation is unavoidable and causes us to overthink, immediately do a distraction technique by doing/involving ourselves in fun activities or hobbies, this is effective in diverting excess thoughts," he added again.

He explained that deep breathing relaxation techniques can also be applied to control overthinking and make you feel comfortable. The relaxation technique is quite simple and doesn't take long to do, one just needs to find a comfortable location, relax the whole body, place one's hands on one's stomach and then breathe regularly and slowly.

“Inhale through your nose, hold for 3 seconds, then exhale through your mouth, feel your stomach and chest move slowly while thinking about pleasant things. This exercise can be repeated 3 times a day for 5 minutes when disturbing thoughts arise,” he explained.

Lastly, try breaking off negative automatic thoughts with thought stopping techniques. Thought Stopping is a strategy to block disturbing or unwanted thoughts and replace them with more adaptive thoughts.

One of the thought stopping steps that can be done is to first find a comfortable location, relax yourself, start with deep breathing relaxation, then set a timer (1-2 minutes) to think about disturbing things, after the alarm sounds, say to yourself, "stop" and immediately direct the mind to something else that is more positive/adaptive while returning to deep breathing relaxation.

"If some of the methods above cannot reduce overthinking or if excessive thoughts start to cause symptoms of stress or changes in behavior to be negative, it is better to consider seeing a mental health professional to get more optimal treatment," concluded Uswatun.