Is Thinking Addictive?
Do you ever feel like you are addicted to your thinking? (Thank you Lisa for this question) Like you want to stop, but you feel compelled to keep thinking, worrying and ruminating about whatever is on your mind. Whether it’s about your past, your food, your kids, your husband, your job or even just the fact that your over-thinking.
There is a solution. It just may not be the one you think you are looking for. What do I mean by that?
You may assume that learning how to stop your thinking would be your answer. But that is impossible. You will never be able to manage, get on top of or control your thinking. I would even venture to say that you have already tried many methods to help you do that and maybe even feel like a failure because you haven’t been able to stop.
You may have even chalked it up to your personality, your nature or your past to explain away why you think the way you do.
I am here to tell you that none of that matters because that is not the reason that you think.
The truth is your thinking isn’t a problem, it’s just a habit. Like all addictions. It’s a habit that is very compelling. It’s a habit that provides a relief of sorts. That may sound counter-intuitive because it seems like you are trying to get relief from your over-thinking.
But if beneath your over-thinking, worrying and ruminating is an invisible (or maybe visable) belief that “I’m not ok,” or “I can’t handle this,” or “Life shouldn’t be this way,” then the over-thinking actually takes me away from the moment of feeling the discomfort of those beliefs.
But what if feeling discomfort wasn’t a problem to run away from? What if understanding where all thoughts and feelings come from is actually the solution to being able to handle any thought, feeling or uncomfortable experience? Imagine if I didn’t fear any experience. That’s the freedom that understanding brings.
Next week we will talk about techniques vs. understanding and answer the question “How do I stop my thinking?”
I invite any and all questions you may have and will use this newsletter over time to answer them. Email your questions to Ask Aviva.
