What to do when you’re overwhelmed by your thoughts
Most of the time, we live on the left side of this image.
We're immersed in our thoughts. They burst into our consciousness, bumping and jostling into one another, shouting for attention. They demand that we ruminate on the mistake we made yesterday, or ponder our fear about the economy, or endlessly think about the person who hasn't responded to our text message.
Luckily, we have the power to take a step back and observe these thoughts.
With distance, you can look at them for what they are. They're not the truth. They're not you! You are the one who is watching the thoughts rise and fall. As the Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön said, "You're the sky. Everything else is just the weather."
Try this the next time you're overwhelmed with your thoughts:
Close your eyes and imagine your own wall of thoughts, just like you see here. Take a few breaths, in and out, and as you do, watch the thoughts shrink down into smaller and smaller circles. Look at all the space you've just created for yourself. All that peace.
From this centered place, you can look at your thoughts with wisdom and compassion.
If there's a painful thought, describe it as a thought, not the truth: "I'm having a thought that says... my crush is never going to respond to my text and that means I'm unloveable."
If there is a persistent thought that keeps bursting forward into your consciousness, acknowledge it. Give it a nod: "Oh, hello, there goes that old thought again."
We might not be able to always operate from this peaceful, distanced place. But we can always come back to it. And with time and practice, it becomes even easier to access.
