Calm Your Mind & Stop Overthinking with Creative Self-Care

🎧 Episode #57 (Calm Your Mind & Stop Overthinking with Creative Self-Care)

Creative self-care isn't some "woo-woo" catchword; it's a powerful set of tools and activities that can bring you deep satisfaction. For those of us who get stuck in overthinking, worry, and rumination loops, I offer this art-lover's practice guide, which outlines eight activities across four creative modalities to bring calmness and peace of mind into your life.

Are You an Overthinker?

Do you struggle to let go of negative and automatic thoughts of dread about potential upcoming events?

Do you second-guess yourself and replay past situations and decisions, wondering how you could have made so many mistakes?

Do you find it difficult to let go of anxious questions and scenarios that play over and over again in your mind?

Khalil Gibran once wrote, "We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” I certainly do it through my overthinking, worry, and rumination.

💭Key Takeaways from this Episode:

• Creative self-care is effective in quelling overthinking by inducing creative flow, providing purpose and meaning to your life, and acting as a positive diversion from negative thinking.
• There are many creative modalities you can explore, but moving your attention away from thinking and connecting with your body is a great place to start.
• You can get your free art-lovers practice guide to explore these four creative self-care modalities: body wisdom, art process, being in nature, and writing it out.
• The guide also offers eight strategies (two within each modality) to help re-energize your creativity.
• Journaling is a powerful tool for reflecting on your overthinking and for providing a meaningful diversion away from automatic negative thoughts and stressed-out feelings.

Journal Prompts to Redirect Your Mind Away from Overthinking, Worry, and Rumination

Here are some journal prompts to redirect your thinking away from worrisome thoughts. Reflect and write about these questions.

As Khalil Gibran said, “We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” We will do that sometimes, but let us recognize our ability to choose something else. To find and express our creative passion so that it crowds out the sorrows while letting in the joy. I hope my Art-Lovers Creative Practice Guide to Stop Overthinking helps you increase your creative spirit by doing inventive things with your hands and heart. Let us imagine our lives through a lens that captures the bright side of the beat.🌞

Podcast Music: My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and have the courage to put it out into the world. All music and sound effects for my podcast are sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this podcast episode: Nowhere Left To Turn by Ghost Beatz; Slide by GEMM; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters

Resources:

The Art-Lovers Creative Practice Guide to Stop Overthinking, Worry, and 

Rumination (all subscribers to my free newsletter get access to this guide)

Jill Hodge’s Insight Timer Teacher Page (free meditations)

Related Episodes:

Khalil Gibran and the Trap of Overthinking (#45)

Reduce Overthinking with Stream-of-Consciousness Journal Writing (#36)

The Nature Connection: Finding Peace and Perspective (#28)

Affirmation Meditation: Overcome Overthinking & Worry (#24)

Overcoming Overthinking with Journaling and Meditation(#23)

New Resource!

On the podcast, I often explore tools and strategies to reduce overthinking. Now, I've created a fun, art-lovers practice guide to stop overthinking, worry, and rumination. Click below to read it now.

The Art-lovers Creative Practice Guide to Stop Overthinking, Worry, and Rumination

This is my creative take on the process (and practice) of releasing the grip of overthinking using four modalities -- body connection, art/creativity, nature, and writing/journaling.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

Check out the resources on this website (and subscribe) to get podcast episodes, poems, articles, music playlists, and journal prompts delivered to your inbox.

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Journaling Resources

30-Day Journal Challenge (Writing Prompts to Get Started)

Here’s a fun & simple 30-day journal challenge for beginners (or those who need inspiration). Use the daily prompts to rediscover yourself.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

Journaling 101: An Inspirational Guide to Start (or Revive) a Practice

Whether you write, doodle, draw, or keep memorable quotes, journaling uncovers YOU. Let your unconscious mind speak, download my free guide.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

Let the Verse Flow is a community-supported, independent publication launched in June 2023 by Jill Hodge. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website and newsletters. Members are vital to building a rich community of diverse voices. Join us by subscribing today; consider a paid subscription to support the community if possible. Thank you!