How do I keep myself from overreacting?

Try meditation and mindfulness. If you are sitting down get up and if you are standing sit down. Take deep breaths and analyze the situation. Remember, not all intense responses are overreactions. In some instances, a quick and extreme response is necessary to protect ourselves or our loved ones. Learn to be aware of cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are automatic thinking patterns that cause the person to distort reality. For people who have overreactions, it is typically because of negative or highly self-critical judgement that make a person feel negatively about his or herself. Identify patterns in your overreactions. Most people have "triggers," which may generate emotional overreactions. Common triggers include envy, rejection, criticism, and control. By learning more about your own triggers, you'll be more likely to control your emotional reactions to them. Check wiki how for more Try a though journal, and patterns Talk to a counselor Rationalize. Think about what just happened rationally by bringing yourself closer to objective truth rather than your subjective experience. Find a way to be compassionate and avoid personalizing what happened to you. Act. Express yourself with “I” statements, or remove yourself from the situation. If you're still upset, find a way to re-channel how you feel.

I have had an issue with overreacting for quite some time. I would always find some way to turn little, insignificant problems into something huge and out of control. I would make myself assume that there was absolutely no solution to the problem and tears would come pouring out of my eyes. It took the help of my family and friends but I was able to find a way to where my emotions would no longer control how I reacted. I took up meditation to help ease and calm my racing thoughts. I started exercising to increase endorphins within my body which make us happy in a natural way. My best suggestion for helping with overreacting is finding a therapist to talk to. My therapist has been such a huge part of my journey and progress and having her to talk to about my issues and concerns have calmed me down considerably. I can now approach every situation in a calm and content manner and I have never been happier!

Always stay calm. Take deep breathes and analyze if the situation is worth getting upset about. Always try to stay level headed and work to improve your temper. It may seem easy to get angry and react fast but with a great amount of control and thought you won’t feel the need to be as upset anymore! Keep working through the temptation to react in a fast way, and always remember to breathe and think through the situation. Nothing is worth getting too upset about. Life is so very short so try to keep that in mind too :)

Overreacting is something that often happens without us being conscious of it - is there a pattern that you notice when you are overreacting? For example, do you notice its around certain people, or in certain situations? If you can start to try and notice when you are overreacting, you can start to put together patterns. A lot of the time in therapy, you will experience cognitive behavioral therapy - where the therapist will have you talk through an instance where you behave in a certain way (aka overreacting) and then try to reflect on if you should have reacted that way or if you were overreacting. And then you reflect on what happened before that or why you think you overreacted, and try to talk about the other possibilities in that situation. (ex: if you overreact when you are talking to your mom - was that a warranted response? if it wasn't, what were you thinking about before that? did you have a stressful day? is there a pattern of conversations with mom that make you stand on guard a little more? And then what are the other possibilities? Maybe she is actually trying to tell you something important that will help you. can you take some deep breaths before responding when talking to her? ETC ETC)

A good way to keep from overreacting is by physically taking a step backwards and then taking some time to sit down on the lounge or the sofa and look at the current situation. By stepping back you are removing yourself from the situation so you can see it from a different angle. By doing this you may see things from a different perspective. You can then approach the situation in a different way. Doing thins the same way will always give you the same outcomes. Do things differently and you will achieve a different result. There is nothing wrong with asking for help or asking for someone’s advice either. Sometimes their advice or what they have to say can enable you to see things in a whole new way.

Stop and think about it from a different perspective if you can. Really step back though, just for a minute. If you're too worked up and you aren't able to think rationally you aren't going to make the best decisions. You need to clear you head. Taking a walk would be a good idea or listening to some music. Distract yourself for a bit if you can, until you are calm and rational. Practice self control and being mindful. When you are calm, rational, thinking clearly you'll make better decisions. Just remember to do your best to stay calm.

Take a deep breath and step away from the situation for a moment: you may be catastrophising, or reacting to the worst possible outcome of an action, circumstance, of future situation (or a combination of all three). When you catch yourself, accept the anxious energy as a reaction. Set some time to consider: how would I help a friend in the same position? How might you comfort them? If necessary, what action might I take? Channel your energy into something active or creative that makes you happy. Reach out to someone you trust and explain how you are feeling; sharing with someone will help relieve some of the pressure you are feeling.

Sometimes it really is hard not to overreact. Overreacting is a common response. When I overreact I take several things into consideration. One thing that I take in to consideration is asking myself if overreacting is worth it. I evaluate the situation and then reach a conclusion. Most of time I reach the conclusion that overreacting is not worth it. I find that taking deep breaths and trying to relax really helps me to not overreact. I analyze the situation before I react. Analyzing is so important because it gives you the time to react instead of overreacting in a negative way.

I myself am honestly not the best at this, but I do try, when I get into tough situations I try to distance myself enough to give myself time to breathe and think before continuing with the situation. When I feel like I’m going to overreact or when I’m starting to get overwhelmed with a tough situation I try to think it through several times from every aspect and breathe with time before continuing. Sometimes I even go to other people before continuing further because it’s safer to consult a trusted source than to just assume that you’re right and proceed in an argument.

I try to stop myself overthinking of the situation at hand, so i would try to keep my thoughts somewhere else, do something that will take my mind off and relax,,if there is a friend i can make stories with, if there my favorite music i can listen too, or my favorite puzzle game, watch that favorite series or movie, and try to relax,,sometimes they don’t work i try not to panic and i start doing exercise this normally works and its double benefit the more i feel overreacting the more i workout the more calories i burn,,in the end i feel double great and hit shower and try to have some sleep,,It works like a magic