Battle Plan for Overwhelming Thoughts

Those running, spinning, constantly out of control thoughts are now in your head. Nothing seems to be helping them. All you know is that they are about to overwhelm you and you feel helpless. You may feel like you HAVE to do what those thoughts are telling you so that you don’t go crazy! Knowing your battle plan for when overwhelming thoughts take over is crucial to being able to get through those.

I’ve been there. As an Eating Disorder survivor, I know the power of thoughts. I know how horrible it is to know that you are doing the wrong thing but physically not being able to stop yourself from doing it.

You know that if you don’t do what your thoughts are telling you to do, you will feel such overwhelming anxiety that you feel like might possibly die. Or you might feel a guilt that will drive you into depression. Maybe your situation is different. Maybe you will feel an overwhelming sadness if you even start to try to do something different… like feel any of the feelings that you’ve been stuffing down inside you for years. So, you ‘put on your happy face’ (because that’s easier!) and try to forget about it.

At the center of it all though are thoughts that tell us we can’t handle our own emotions. We can’t handle the anxiety, sadness, depression, guilt, shame or any other ‘bad emotion’. We must cut off the bad emotion before we feel it!! To do that, we simply do what is easy.

We were not created to do what is easy though. We were created to feel everything, even those emotions that we view as negative.

#1- Breath

I had a meditation teacher tell me once that “Your breath is your mind’s leash” and that has stuck with me ever since. If you can focus on your breathing and get it back to a normal pace then your thoughts will start to naturally slow down.

Job 9:18 says “He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.”

While this verse is referencing the power of the Lord, I do think that it also may be speaking of something that Job had experienced. When our breath gets to fast, and our focus shifts from what is happening in the immediate moment, misery is created within the mind.

To get some deep breaths in, I like to use the ‘Breath’ app on my Apple Watch. Another great tool is the Calm app- and the session called ‘Emergency Calm’. Both of these are great visual and auditory cues for getting your breath back on track.

#2- Prayer

Psalms 139: 1-3 “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down you are familiar with all my ways.”

Asking God to help you when you feel this overwhelming misery will help SO much. Not only to use it as a petition to help you, but also as a reminder that God is with your RIGHT NOW! Right in the middle of your crisis and in the middle of your thoughts. He knows all of your actions; He is with you. He is there for you always. Remembering to pray when our thoughts are already so out of control is hard. Slowing your breath down first is my recommendation because once your breath is slower, you have a higher chance of remembering to pray.

#3- Speak It

Thoughts inside of our head, rolling and rolling around don’t help us in any way. We must get these thoughts out. David wrote a Psalm about how these thoughts rolling around in his head gave him more anguish than he was already in.

Psalms 39: 1-3- “I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.”

Staying inside of your head with these overwhelming thoughts does not help. These thoughts act as poison against you. You must find someway to release them. Talking to a spouse, friend or therapist will help. Journaling will help. Point is, you have to get them out. Once they are out, then you can start sorting out exactly the next steps to deal with them. Meditating on these thoughts actually made it WORSE for David. And from experience, I can tell you it makes it worse for me as well.

My jaw clenches, my shoulders get tense. I have even start shaking from the intensity of the feelings that are accompanying the thoughts. Getting them out of your head is essential in starting to deal with the true issue and the true emotions.

After speaking, take note of why the overwhelming thoughts are so overwhelming. What belief do you have about yourself or the situation that seems ‘to much’; to out of control, to hard, or to scary?

#4- Take Action

Once you have identified what your thoughts are REALLY about through prayer and speaking them, then you take action.

Overwhelming thoughts are so hard because so many of us are dealt different overwhelming thoughts. For example, my brain obsesses about safety at all times. And overwhelming thoughts about safety will lead to Eating Disorder Behaviors, panic attacks and other things.

So, instead of listening to what the thoughts are telling me to do (run, panic, restrict, etc.) I must do the OPPOSITE and face the overwhelming thoughts in small steps. Make a list of 4-6 (or more!) small steps that will lead you to overcoming the emotion around those overwhelming thoughts.

For example: As someone who is scared of germs, I had a hard time eating in public. When I had to eat in public, safety about my food was tremendous!

1. Eat my own food at a friend’s house- only wash hands 2x
2. Eat my own food in a more public place (such as a coffee shop)- only wash hands 2x.
3. Eat food at a friend’s house that THEY prepared- only wash hands 2x.
4. Eat out at a restaurant- only was hands 2x.

This example above scales the scary thing down into multiple steps that don’t seems so overwhelming. Will your thoughts be overwhelming while you are doing them? Absolutly.

Face what is Overwhelming You. Make a plan to conquer it. Only then can you be set free from it.

Conclusion

Knowing that competing against these overwhelming thoughts will get you to your goal of being able to deal with the emotion will help. As you are going through each step, remember to have a support person with you and to do the first three steps continually. Keep your breath in check, pray and talk about exactly what is running through your mind as it is happening.

I hope that this helps you deal with your overwhelming thoughts. Let me know in the comments below if you have other suggestions or things that help you out!

Want to read other devotionals about conquering fears and getting though the hard days? Check out these posts on Momentary Troubles, Bad Days, and Distraction.

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