In an era where the world only moves faster, it can be hard to keep up. In order to accommodate for the speedy pace, our minds tend to thrust themselves into overdrive. This leads to a large problem behind anxiety, depression and insomnia: the concept of overthinking.
Overthinking spurs when our minds refuse to be quiet and instead choose to continuously grapple at a series of thoughts. Thankfully, Rachel Ramos has discovered a way to combat it. Ramos is a World renown Behavioral Dynamic Response consultant, creator of the Tweekit app and founder of the Recovery Formula website. She struggled with mental illness for several years before discovering this new way of self-soothing. The key to stifling this cycle of thoughts is to distract your mind and focus on something else. Enter the 5 Thinking Hats Method.
Step 1: Name 5 things you can see. Look around and become aware of your sight in particular. Name in detail, for example, instead of saying “chair”, describe it as brown, torn and large enough for two people.
Step 2: Name 4 things you can feel. Take a minute to move your toes inside your shoes or feel your rough sweatshirt rub against your arm.
Step 3: Name 3 things you can hear. Close your eyes and listen closely to what’s around you. Is there a dog barking in the neighborhood? Is there a baby crying on the other side of the room? Pick out three distinct sounds and separate them from all other noise.
Step 4: Name 2 things you can smell. Keep your eyes closed and try to identify specific smells like popcorn, sweat, peanut butter, Windex etc…
Step 5: Name 1 good thing about yourself. Here comes the hardest part of the method, because your attention is redirected upon yourself. The key is to think of a positive quality as fast as possible, before any negative thoughts have the opportunity to worm themselves into your mind. You are a precious soul and you will make it through this.
5 Thinking Hats has been proven to stop the vicious cycle of overthinking and can ward of anxiety in the long run as well. The method can be altered or extended as need be. The key is not to cure yourself all at once, but to take baby steps and gradually improve with exercises that work for you.
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