# Stop Overthinking  ## Metadata - Author: [[Nick Trenton]] - Full Title: Stop Overthinking - Category: #books ## Highlights - Many of us have become habitual overthinkers because it gives us the illusion that we’re doing something about the problem we’re overthinking about. ([Location 180](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=180)) - Stress and anxiety are not the same thing. Psychologist Dr. Sarah Edelman explains that stress is something in the environment, an external pressure on us, whereas anxiety is our internal experience of this pressure. ([Location 208](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=208)) - If you heap chronic stress onto someone who already has a biological or psychological predisposition to overthinking, it’s a recipe for burnout and overwhelm. ([Location 215](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=215)) - Clutter, be it at home or work, is generally a significant cause of anxiety because it subconsciously acts as a reflection of yourself. ([Location 231](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=231)) - The 4 A’s of Stress Management   This technique can be like a lifeboat in the storm of stress and overthinking. All you need to remember is four techniques: avoid, alter, accept and adapt. ([Location 387](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=387)) - Communicate your needs and feelings directly, rather than suffering in silence. ([Location 414](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=414)) - When you forgive, you are releasing yourself from the stress and energy of resenting and blaming the other person. ([Location 431](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=431)) - Acceptance doesn’t mean we agree with what happened or that we like it and shouldn’t try to change it. It only means we gracefully come to terms with what we can’t realistically change, so we can focus on what we can. ([Location 437](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=437)) - Adapting to stress means we change ourselves to better cope with life. ([Location 443](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=443)) - If we can pull our conscious awareness back into the present, we can halt some of this overthinking. And we can do this by checking in with the five senses. To put it another way, the brain can carry you all over the place, but the body—and its senses—is only ever one place: the present. ([Location 542](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08XPQL61B&location=542))