What Is Overthinking? Signs, Causes, and How to Stop It

Have you ever been in bed and kept thinking about the same conversation over and over again? Or fretting over something that hasn’t even occurred yet? We almost all overthink things like that. It’s a frequent mental pattern that distracts you, undermines your importance, and makes you feel hopeless.

What is Overthinking?

In simpler terms,

Thinking too much about a situation, a decision, or even your own ideas is known as overthinking.

Basically, overthinking is the act of surrendering excessive amounts of time to an unhelpful or harmful way of thinking about something. Instead of planning or problem-solving; it involves compulsive and repetitive thought patterns.

Causes: 

Historical occurrences: Thinking back on errors, regrets, outrages or insults.

Future concerns: Worrying about the worst-case scenarios or worrying about what can happen.

Over Analysis: Being in an infinite circle of benefits and disadvantages without drawing a conclusion.

Why People Overthink?

1. Stress & Anxiety: 

Stress and anxiety leads our brain to think constantly in an attempt to organize a situation that we perceive as a problem.

2. Fear of Failure or Rejection:

We probe every thing continuously and constantly so we do not fail and make a fool of ourselves.

3. Social Media Pressure:

 It is often easy to fall into a vicious cycle of comparing our lives to perfect posts of others.

4. Perfectionism:

The reason why some people overthink is that they want everything to be perfect.

Related: Bullying

5. Traumatic Experiences:

 The earlier unwanted experiences or traumatic incidents of life may teach us how to grow hyper-vigilant, consequently making us over-analyze the situation to prevent repeating any painful incident in future.

 

6. Lack of control:

When we deem ourselves to be lacking self control, the brain tends to overwork so as to create an illusion of control by overthinking.

7. Uncertainty:

Human brain doesn’t like mysteries. When confronted with a mystery, it tries to insert the missing pieces by itself and is likely to result in a flood of possible scenarios in the form of a series of what-ifs.

8. Low Self-Esteem:

 People with poor self-esteem tend to worry about social interactions, by imagining how others think of them or replaying conversations in their mind to possibly condemn themselves.

Related: Online Deception and Maladaptive Humor

9. Information Overload:

In this ultra modern era, we pass extra and unnecessary information to our brains and that at times creates tension in the mind and overthinking in order to process everything.

10. Rumination:

It is a special kind of overthinking where people keep thinking of bad events and incidents happened to them. It is like replaying a bad memory in head which makes it harder to move on. 

Effects of Overthinking:

Worst over thinking can do might include:

• Putting the brain in a hole where one can’t come out. 

• Waste of time and energy.

• Insomnia.

• Less to no confidence.

• Depression and anxiety in long term.

Overcome Overthinking with these Methods:

Acknowledge it:

First, acknowledge the fact that you are overthinking. Note your thoughts, are you re-living, re-experiencing, or creating scenarios that haven’t happened? This cycle must not be ignored and examined.

Question Your Thoughts:

Next it is important to question the validity and usefulness of every idea. Find out whether the thought is positive or just brings more discomfort. Questioning yourself regularly about what you think will help break the cycle.

Write Them Down:

Externalize your thoughts by writing them. Journaling turns out to be a kind of mental divorce, which allows the mind to stop the vicious circle.

“Worry” Time:

Practice Mindfulness:

Develop the awareness of the moment. Mindfulness can be achieved by taking a deeper breath, performing some kind of meditation, or some sensory awareness. It will break the continuity of thoughts and will bring you back in the moment.

Turn on Action Mode:

 Delays in making a decision often characterize overthinking; the solution is to take any step at all, no matter how small one is, i.e., make a choice or call another individual or do a pending activity. This humble motion creates psychological thrust and therefore reduces the tendency to do over-analysis.

Productive Distraction: 

In the event that diversion works, then indulge in activities that require concentration and that are pleasurable. The safer examples are hobbies and exercise, or reading or falling into nature.

Limit Information Intake:

In addition, you may want to reduce the chances of information overload. Triggering can be stopped by minimizing news and social media activity or any other form of anxiety. As limited data is processed by our brain and it creates false scenarios to imagine and then gradually falling into the circle of what-ifs again.

Talk Things Out:

Sharing the concerns with a person of trust. It could be someone of the same ability being a friend, a family member, or a therapist, and this can bring in an outer view and help get rid of the mental strain.

Practice Self-Compassion:

Treat yourself kindly. Imagining too much at an habitual level as opposed to a condition that is awful. Accept the fact that you set out to make a change in a pattern that has been hard on you and reward even small successes. If you feel you have broken the cycle, go grab yourself a dessert . 

Request Medical Help: 

If chronic overthinking fails to affect daily performance in a positive way, increases anxiety, or leads to depressive symptoms, request help of qualified mental-health practitioner at once. A practitioner of this kind will be able to develop personal adjustment methods and techniques.

Final Note:

 There is too much overthinking especially in instances where life seems uncertain, but it should not be your main highlight in life. With the help of easy but regular practices, along with the honesty of self-compassion, it is possible to calm the voices inside your head and start to feel more calm. Burst the negative bubble surrounding you and catch a glimpse of any positivity, courage and boldness. 

Keep Jon Kabat-Zinn in mind when he tells us, 

And in the long-run every small step in the direction of less brain strained life is a step towards more peace, clarity and work in the world. 

 

You can share your story of overcoming overthinking. We are cheering for you.