Have you occasionally feel like your head is working overtime? You have so many things on your mind. Even though you may know you can’t solve them, you keep worrying about them. Everybody’s got this kind of restlessness in their head sometimes. But what should you do if you worry much longer and more intensely than usual? How can you regain peace of mind? And what are the causes of this unrest?

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Causes of turbulence in your head

It’s not easy to get peace of mind these days. So much is asked of you and there is always something new that requires your attention, like an e-mail or a whatsapp. You keep thinking about everything you still have to do. You receive too many stimuli and you have little overview. In addition, there may be other factors that disturb the peace in your head.

The causes can be very diverse:

  • Too busy at work
  • Conflict with supervisor or colleague
  • Concerns in private life
  • Don’t feel good about yourself
  • suffer from negative emotions or thoughts

Consequences of turbulence in your head

You need peace of mind to be able to think clearly, make good choices and feel good about yourself. As soon as you worry too much, you will feel stressed and that will have further consequences. If you are constantly freaking out, you are constantly burdening your brain and your brain consumes a lot of energy. You will eventually feel very tired.

The turmoil in your head can lead to..:

  • Poor Sleep
  • Less energy
  • Reduced resistance
  • Procrastination
  • Hyperventilation
  • Physical complaints such as muscle tension, headaches or stomach complaints.

See also: Why am I so tired?

When stress lingers for a long time, there is a chance that you will get burnout.

Restlessness and burnout

Many people suffer from stress complaints or are burnout. If you have a burnout, in addition to physical complaints, you can also suffer from constant pressure in your head. This can make you feel very restless and even more tired. Maybe you recognize yourself in one of the following statements:

  • “There’s some kind of YouTube movies flashing through my head all the time.
  • “I don’t experience any space on my hard drive from above. I don’t save anymore and I have to do all kinds of things.
  • There’s a train going through my head and in every wagon there’s something I need to do, but I can’t stop the train’.
  • “I’m freaking out and I’m terribly worried about everything, but I don’t seem to be able to get a grip on anything.
  • “I keep thinking in circles.
  • “The idea that I have to do something with this makes me dizzy. I really can’t take any more, my head is so full.
  • At night I wake up grieving and I can’t rest. “I can’t sleep or forget about
Head working overtime: stress and burnout

Stop grinding

Do you recognize that, hustle and bustle in your head? It’s hard to find the stop button for yourself. Turning it on by itself is usually not necessary.

Quitting the hustle and bustle in your head is not one size fits all. There are several ways to get yourself out of this nasty mode. Alternate between them with the stop buttons described below. What does work for one, does not work for the other or works less. This way you will also notice what works best for you. After an exercise, get back up and see what you experience.

Tips for more peace of mind

We’ve listed a few tips for you

Live in the now

Do you ever spend days worrying about something that’s bothering you? It can be very difficult to find the stop button for yourself. Difficult but not impossible. You can break the pumping station in your head. You can start by focusing more on the ‘now’. Usually your thoughts are about something from the past or something still to come. Therefore, try to focus on what you are doing. This will distract you from your thoughts and you will get more peace of mind. It can also help to write down everything you are working on. If you write everything down, you don’t have to remember it. In a quiet moment you can look at your notes and decide what to do with them. But this is not the only thing you can do. Read on for some tips to get more peace of mind.

Movement

Research shows that exercise is a good remedy for stress. Even though you don’t have much energy during a burnout, it’s still good to start exercising to get more rest in your head. By moving consciously, you shift your attention away from all that worry. You force your thoughts, as it were, to concentrate on something else.

Head working overtime: stress and burnout

Respiratory exercises

You can also get more peace of mind by consciously focusing on your breathing. You also shift your focus and it helps you to relax. However, some people suffer from hyperventilation during a burnout. If this is the case with you, we advise you not to do the breathing exercise. But for those who do not suffer from hyperventilation, it is a good exercise for when you notice that your head is very full.

The exercise takes about 2 to 3 minutes and can be extended to 15 minutes. You can do it indoors as well as outdoors.

  • Sit or lie down comfortably.
  • Close your eyes if you like or keep them focused on a point.
  • Focus your attention on your breathing. Breathe in and out through your nose.
  • Follow what you feel as you breathe, for example:
    • the cool air when you breathe it through your nose
    • the airflow in your lungs
    • your chest going up and down
    • the swelling and sinking of your abdomen
  • Keep following this closely.

Make sure that your attention is not elsewhere during this exercise or that you are distracted. If this does happen, try to bring your attention back to your breathing again and again. It happens very quickly that your attention is interrupted, but as long as you continue to recognize these interruptions, you can bring your thoughts back and focus your attention on your breathing again.

Do you feel lightheaded or dizzy? Then focus only on exhaling and exhale powerfully and deeply. If you find it difficult to keep your attention on your breathing this way, put a hand on your belly and follow the movement there.

Concentrate on your senses

You can also do an exercise where you focus on your senses. Take a few minutes time for yourself and become aware of the following:

  • What do you hear? Name it inside yourself. What else do you hear? Do you hear silence in between? If you have given yourself some time to listen to what you hear, look around you and ask yourself the question:
  • What do you see? Describe this in as much detail as possible. Do you see different colors? Do you see movements what kind of movement?
  • What do you feel? Do you feel where your body touches a surface (e.g. the chair) or do you feel your footprint in your shoes? Do you feel your clothes on your skin or do you feel wind or rain when you are outside?
  • What do you taste or smell? Grab something to eat or drink and be aware of what you smell and taste. Is it sweet, salty or bitter? Is the substance sticky or creamy?

You don’t have to go through all the questions every time. It’s all about consciously shifting your attention for a moment. You can start the next time you do the exercise with a different question.

Keep calm in your head

When the above items, hyperactivity in your head, often bother you and determine the pleasure in your life, it makes sense to work on underlying patterns and learn to let go and break them. If you are unable to do this, please feel free to contact us. We are happy to help you create peace in your head again.

Verstoorde werkrelatie werknemer

Training and coaching

Milltain provides training and coaching for private individuals and organisations. Our team consists of 35 coaches and trainers who have now helped thousands of people struggling with stress and burnouts.

Milltain for private individuals:

Are you stuck in life because of stress or a burnout? We developed an effective online programme that is fully focused on the complete recovery from a burnout. More than 2000 people have successfully completed this training!

Movement and nature play prominent roles in this training. Recovery is a process that contains peaks and troughs, and that’s something we know all about. Our highly experienced coaches provide you with active support.

Learn more: Stress and burnout coaching

Conquer burnout and stress

Reducing stress and recovering from burnout can be quite the challenge. With the help of our professional coaches, we are convinced that a full recovery is within reach. Our years of experience has taught us what stepping stones will help you reach your goal more effectively and how to make sure the changes you make will be of help to you for the rest of your life. Let’s turn your burnout or stress into your best life ever.

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