These are hard and painful habits – and make life so much more complicated. And yet we often just carry on as if there is no other way. Like they are part of us.
But overthinking, catastrophising and procrastination are all just behaviour patterns. You don’t have to keep doing them. It feels like you do because you’ve done them so often. But they are NOT part of who you are.
Overthinking etc has a lot to do with your nervous system
See below for my practical tips for tackling procrastination, catastrophising and overthinking. But, before you do, understand this – basically, what this comes down to is you trying to cope with the uncertainty of life. And how unsafe that can make us feel.
If you can recognise when you don’t feel safe – and create that feeling for yourself – you won’t need these coping mechanisms anymore.
And that’s the nervous system work I keep talking about. Once you can do that, you’ll be able to turn off the reaction that transforms into these 3 energy-sucking demons and deal practically with your challenges instead.
Want to do nervous system work that feels really relevant to your every day challenges? You’re in the right place.
Tips for overthinking, procrastination, catastrophising
Ok, here are some simple tips to get started with procrastination, overthinking and catastrophising. Once we’ve done the nervous system work together you won’t need these anymore – but they’re a good place to start if you’re struggling right now.
Overthinking. Do something physical that requires all your focus, preferably outside. Use a physical cycle breaker because trying to think your way out of overthinking – is just more thinking!
Catastrophising. Ask the question: “Do I know this to be true or am I making an assumption”? If it’s an assumption then it’s faux-psychic fiction you don’t need to torture yourself with.
Procrastination. Use the 5 second rule. When you think of what you need to do, start within 5 seconds. This closes the window in which your mind can think of excuses. It also trains you to act quickly. You only need to do this for a couple of weeks to start to see the difference.
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