If you have ADHD, you’re probably familiar with overthinking. Whether ruminating on the past or worrying about the future, overthinking can cause sleepless nights, decision paralysis, and anxiety, shame and guilt. Overthinking can interfere with daily life, so it’s important to arm yourself with tips and tools to overcome it. From mindfulness to exercise, talking to a therapist, and distracting yourself with activities you enjoy, here are 8 strategies to manage ADHD and overthinking.
What’s the Link Between ADHD & Overthinking?
Overthinking is a common symptom of ADHD. It often involves replaying the past and worrying about the future, and can lead to feelings of helplessness, guilt or shame. If you have ADHD, your brain works faster and gets caught in thinking loops more than a neurotypical brain, causing you to go over the same thoughts again and again without finding a solution or feeling better.
People with ADHD often have trouble regulating their attention, which can lead to a constant stream of thoughts that are difficult to control. They also have an imbalance of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, which can affect cognitive processes such as attention, impulsivity, and working memory. ADHD and anxiety also often go hand in hand, with about 50% of adults with ADHD also suffering from an anxiety disorder. This can lead to excessive worrying and ruminating that interferes with everyday life.
8 Strategies to Manage ADHD and Overthinking
1. Know Your Triggers
Are there certain things that trigger you to overthink? Or that lead you to feel anxious and worry about the future? Some people have a really hard time watching the news and all the terrible stories it covers. Although it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, it can also be detrimental to your mental health to constantly be bombarded with upsetting news stories. If this is one of your triggers, try avoiding news outlets as much as possible, whether that’s on TV or social media. Other triggers for overthinking could be feeling sleep-deprived, hungover or stressed. If you know these things can lead to overthinking, you can do things to take extra care of yourself during these times.
2. Be Aware of Your Thoughts
If you’re constantly going through your days worrying and ruminating and not doing anything about it, it can harmfully affect your mental health. Pay attention to what you’re thinking about and create boundaries for your emotional wellbeing. If there are certain topics that come into your mind that you know you can spiral about, make an effort to intentionally change what you’re thinking about. When you’re not making a point to choose the right thoughts, you risk attracting the negative scenarios that constantly take up space in your head.
3. Integrate Mindfulness
Making mindfulness part of your everyday routine can help ground your thoughts, keeping you in the present, rather than in the past or future. Sometimes overthinking doesn’t require a trigger, it just happens. Knowing techniques to quiet those all-consuming thoughts can be extremely helpful. Practices like deep breathing, body scanning, gratitude, and meditation are all great options- try them and see which ones work best for you.
4. Exercise
Exercise is super helpful for many ADHD symptoms, including overthinking. It triggers the release of endorphins, which boosts your mood and can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Working out also requires focus and concentration, so it can be a good, healthy distraction from your thoughts. Include various forms of exercise in your routine, including walking, running, yoga, Pilates, strength-training, boxing, and dancing.
5. Take Some Action, No Matter How Small
Overthinking can often be minimized by taking some sort of action. Feeling anxious that you haven’t seen your friend in a while? Text her to make a plan, or even just say hi. Worried about your finances? Set up a call with a financial advisor. Feeling anxious about your health? Make an appointment for a check up with your doctor. Small actions can offer a lot of relief and can help reduce overthinking and intrusive thoughts.
6. Distract Yourself
If you’re prone to overthinking, it can be helpful to have a list of activities you enjoy that can help distract you. It’s important that these activities are interesting enough for you to want to fully engage in them rather than thinking. Activities can include reading, listening to music or a podcast, watching a TV show, or calling a friend.
7. Talk to a Therapist
When you deal with non-stop thinking and intrusive thoughts, it can be really helpful to talk to a therapist on a regular basis. They can offer helpful advice to put your worry into perspective and can equip you with techniques to help your overthinking tendencies. They can also help manage your anxiety, leading to less worrying and anxious thoughts. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and behavioural therapy are ones to look into.
8. Do Things That Make You Feel Your Best
Make an effort to structure your day around things that make you feel happy. Make a list of things that make you feel good and always improve your day when you do them. Whether it’s baking, going for a walk while listening to your favourite podcast, taking a specific workout class, meeting up with friends, or calling your mom, try incorporating at least one joyful element into your day to keep your mind in a more positive state.
Overthinking is common when you have ADHD, but integrating these tips and strategies can help stop the loop and improve your mental well being.
This post contains affiliate links.
Did you find this post on ADHD and overthinking helpful? We’d love it if you shared it on Pinterest!
Looking for more helpful advice and strategies for ADHD? Make sure to follow our Mental Health Board on Pinterest!
