How to stop overthinking (it's easier than you think)

SALT LAKE CITY — Have you ever had a thought you just can't put down? Maybe it's a conversation you keep replaying. Something you wish you'd said differently.

KSL Relationship contributor Matt Townsend said that sort of rumination isn't a mind problem; it's a pattern problem. Before addressing it, he said it's important to recognize when healthy reflection crosses a line.

"You should have thoughts," he said. "If it's too much time, if it's starting to impact your health, if it's bringing you down, if it's pulling you down, if you're obsessing on it, then you gotta go in and stop it."

He shared four ways to help change the pattern.

Shift your focus from mind to body

Townsend said the quickest way to interrupt overthinking is to shift your focus.

"Shift from your mind to your body," he emphasized. "Go find five things that you're seeing, four things you're hearing, three things that you can smell  and just slowly start focusing on those things."

Directing your attention to physical sensations leaves less room for your mind to keep spiraling. That small step can give you immediate relief because you're no longer trapped in the repetitive thinking loop.

Create space between you and your thoughts

Despite what you may think, not every thought you have is true.

"Instead of thinking everything you're thinking is you, start to notice that's your mind," Townsend explained. " Your mind is making up stories ... not me, but my mind."

He emphasized that the minute you  differentiate you and your mind, you don't have to believe that story.

" If something went wrong at work and now ... you're like, 'Oh, man ... what if I get fired,'" he gave as an example. "What you could say to yourself is, 'Whoa, it looks like my mind is turned on, and now my mind is making up a lot of stories about me getting fired.'"

That intentional thought puts a little space between you and your thoughts and gives you a lot of freedom. You don't have to suppress your thoughts, just recognize that thoughts are not always facts.

Write it down instead of spiraling

One of Townsend's favorite tools is to get thoughts out of your head and onto paper.

"Go sit down and just data dump," he said. "Write everything you're thinking, even if it's ugly, even if it's not pretty."

You don't have to write it down in a personal journal; just get the thoughts out. Afterward, you can just throw those pages away. You just need to get the energy and the data out.

"Your mind can turn off because it's out of you finally," Townsend emphasized.

Complete one small step

"Generally your mind won't turn off until some action's taken," Townsend explained.

However, overthinking often disguises itself as action. You might keep thinking because it feels like thinking will solve the issue when, really, your mind just keeps spinning. Townsend said to stop the spiraling by identifying one meaningful next step.

"What's one thing I can do to act on this thought?" he said to ask yourself. "Just commit to go do that action."

Maybe it's scheduling the conversation you're afraid of having. Maybe it's creating a to-do list. Maybe it's making one phone call. Once you get started, your brain can relax because it doesn't need to keep reminding you about the problem.

"You become an actor," Townsend explained. "You're not just a thinker anymore."

This story originally aired on KSL TV and has been reformatted for a digital audience using artificial intelligence.