Pressing Pause

Waking up with worrisome thoughts racing around your mind is frustrating, scary and feels lonely. You’re not alone in how you feel and there are ways you can help yourself back to sleep. In this episode we look at: • Why trying to empty your mind doesn’t help • How being kind to yourself with self-compassionate phrases is a more effective calming technique • Why it’s more helpful to acknowledge rather than ignore your thoughts • An exercise you can do that will relax you to drift off back

It’s frustrating when you’re worn out from a busy day but when you collapse into bed your mind won’t stop whirring long enough for you to go to sleep. The more you will yourself to sleep the more elusive it becomes, and the more stressed you get. In this episode we look at: • Why sleep is a priority not a luxury • What we can learn from children’s bedtime routines • 6 ways to calm your overthinking mind before you get into bed

Whether you’re a morning person or not you can often feel frazzled from the start, which then sets the tone for the rest of the day. Without getting up any earlier or finding more time, you can begin your day on a more positive, nourishing and calm note. In this episode we look at: • How to create positive feelings for yourself and others before you're out of bed • Incorporating supportive actions into everyday activities • Using intentions, affirmations and mantras as reminders during the day

There’s one word that we use all the time and by doing so make ourselves feel bad in so many ways. You should do this, you should be that, you shouldn’t feel this. Should is laden with obligation, shame and a lack of choice. But we don't have to should ourselves. In this episode we look at: • How we use ‘should’ in everyday life • What messages we give ourselves when we use it • Why we think it can help us but it’s actually harming us • What to replace ‘should’ with to give us ch

While it’s important to stay up to date and informed on what’s happening locally and globally, overthinkers can become overwhelmed by news reports. In this episode we look at: • The difference between being informed and overwhelmed • How staying glued to the news doesn’t necessarily help you or those involved in the reports • The positive action you can take motivated by the news to feel less helpless • What you can do to reduce your overthinking and upset when you feel overwhelmed by new

Meditation isn’t about emptying your head, sitting cross-legged in silence or spending hours chanting, and your mind wandering means you’re doing it right, not wrong! If you get lost in a spiral of thoughts and what ifs, taking a few minutes a day to meditate can really help. In this episode we look at: • What the point is in meditating • How overthinkers can benefit from it • The science behind how meditation calms and soothes us • Clearing up common confusions that are stopping you from

There’s a lot of confusion over self-care – it’s more than bubble baths, it isn’t selfish and it’s not about putting yourself first. Taking care of your needs as well as caring for everyone else makes you better able to spend less time lost in raking over the past and what if-ing the future. In this episode we look at: • What self-care is • And what self-care is not • Where you may already be practising self-care • The benefits of practising self-care to you as an overthinker, and to

Overwhelm likes to take on different guises so it can get a firm hold on you without you realising. It shows up as a lack of focus, an inability to know what to do next, as a lack of patience, as pessimism, lethargy and apathy along with plenty of other feelings that make you want to hide under the duvet. In this episode we look at: • The sneaky signs that you’re in overwhelm • What are the common causes • What you can do to help yourself feel better • How you can reduce its impact on you nex

Overthinkers often believe that if you can have everything in life planned out and organised then you’ll be able to stop worrying. However, trying to keep control of everything doesn’t, in fact, stop you worrying so we need a different approach. In this episode we look at: • What wanting to be in total control looks like • The role of What If • How trying to keep control won’t make worrying disappear • How to recognise when you’re in controlling mode • What to do to loosen your contr

There are times while out and about when you get stuck in overthinking, going over and over the same thoughts without getting anywhere. That’s when applying mindfulness, whether you’re in a crowded city or a quiet forest, can calm your whirring mind and reduce your stress. In this episode we look at: • What is mindful walking • How it can benefit you, not just when you’re overthinking • My experience of how it made a difference in my life • How to take a mindful walk

When you think of what makes you feel content and joyful in your daily life, more often than not it’s the little things rather than the big events. And why is that? It’s because we notice these so-called little things and we savour them. And the benefits of savouring are far-reaching. In this episode we look at: • What is savouring • What are the benefits to our wellbeing • The four strands of savouring • Why money doesn’t help • What we can do to increase our opportunities to savour

While you’re replaying the same thoughts over and over again you’re lost in your head ruminating, worrying and what if-ing. It’s exhausting and stressful and it can feel really hard to break free of this overthinking vortex. But it is possible. In this episode we look at: • What is rumination • How it feels to be stuck in overthinking and overworrying • Why trying not to think doesn’t work • How to disrupt this cycle with one simple technique that you can do anywhere, any time

As we scroll through social media we can make up stories about what we see. This can lead to feelings of comparison, dissatisfaction and sadness. Being mindful can help you to notice the impact social media is having on you. In this episode we look at: • The kinds of stories we tell ourselves about other people’s posts • How to recognise the comparison trap • How to challenge the stories we tell ourselves • How mindfulness helps create a healthier relationship with social media

Mindfulness helps us to slow down our overthinking brains, to just be here, in this moment, in what’s real in our lives right now without judging it or trying to change it. In this episode we look at: • What mindfulness is • What the benefits are of practising mindfulness • How mindfulness reduces how stressed we feel and gets us out of worrying mode • How to take a micro mindful moment • How mindfulness can be integrated into our day rather than added to it

Savouring the good stuff and making a point every day to appreciate the little things in life can have a real and powerful positive impact on your life. In this episode we look at: • What being thankful, grateful and appreciative is and what it is not • What gratitude practice is and how you can do it • The benefits of regular gratitude practice as shown by positive psychology research • How I’ve made thankfulness part of daily life and the difference it’s made to me