Overthinking is a common human trait to probe and ruminate on past events. They worry a little too much about the future. The situations that happen in our professional or personal lives lead to overthinking. Humans need to cope with various emotions and situations. It is very natural to overthink.
Overthinking stops us from working on the situation. We just think, think, and overthink the situation. It finally results in unhappiness. We will discuss what is over thinking, overthinking symptoms and typesOverthinking Symptoms: Recognize and Overcome the Signs
What Is Overthinking?
Overthinking is thinking of something repeatedly and worrying constantly about it. It causes you to paralyze from working on the solution. It makes you lose your focus and have a hard time doing anything. You’ll be so consumed by your thoughts that you’ll isolate yourself from your surroundings.
It is also known as rumination. It could be seen in different age groups of people. For example, students overthink their studies and results, adults overthink their future or relationships, or middle-aged people overthink their retirement.
Types Of Overthinking
Overthinking can be caused in different ways, but the suffering is the same. They are
- Catastrophizing: It happens when you can only see the situation in the worst scenario. It causes you to feel every problem in the worst way. It will make you imagine your surroundings in a negative way.
- Hopeless thoughts: When you feel that the situation will never get better. It will drive your brain into thinking that the situation is hopeless.
- Perfectionism: When you set high standards for yourself, you are bound to feel disappointment anywhere in your life. Your being incapable of accepting your flaws will make you obsessed with the results. This leads to overthinking.
- Generalizing: When you feel that one failure results in every failure, you expect that a failure leads to another failure. You generalize every situation with that one failure.
- Mindreading: When you always want to dive into the thoughts of others. You desire to know what others might be thinking in a situation, leading you to overthink.
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Symptoms Of Overthinking
The following points will give a general idea of the overthinking symptoms:
- Unable to concentrate
- Think only of the worst scenario
- Unable to make decisions
- Fixed on negative emotions
- Doubting yourself
- Self-criticism
- Continuous chatter in your mind
- Feeling anxious
- Procrastination
Physical Symptoms Of Overthinking
Overthinking symptoms that are found to affect you physically:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Being fatigue
- Eating disorders
- Gastric problems
- Muscle cramps
- Headaches
How Does Overthinking Affects You?
Overthinking can seriously affect an individual’s life. It is not a mental health problem, but it is a symptom of depression. It will make you feel anxious. Here are some medical cases associated with overthinking.
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Overthinking can affect your relationship. Overthinking in a relationship can break the bond between people. It will lead to breaking up or soured your relationship.
Overthinking will make you second-guess yourself. You’ll need constant reassurance from others that what you’re doing is okay.
Example:
If you’re a student attending a test, overthinking while answering can make you make mistakes in the test.
How To Stop Overthinking?
To stop overthinking may not be easy, but it is definitely not impossible. You can try to put overthinking under control if you try these tips:
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Distraction:
Distracting yourself by diving into a new thing other than sitting and giving your brain a golden chance to overthink would be a rather good solution. Free yourself from that torment for some time and engage in anything, anything other than thinking. You may find yourself free from that torment. Diversion could be a better tactic in this situation. So, give yourself a chance to rest your brain for some time.
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Meditation:
Try to put your focus on positive thoughts through meditation. Meditation can help you redirect your focus. Take deep breaths in meditation and try to divert your thoughts from something negative to something positive instead of challenging yourself to stop overthinking. Do it for at least 10 minutes. It will help you calm your thoughts and relax your mind.
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Challenge your thoughts:
Challenge your negative thoughts. Are they going to rule you? Are you going to keep thinking about them? Tell yourself that your negative thoughts are not everything. The world doesn’t revolve around them, and as a fact, they are not facts all the time. Learn to convert your negative thoughts into positive ones.
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Self-acceptance:
Instead of thinking about the bad situations that happened to you, accept them and move on from them. You need to know that thinking about those unpleasant things and cursing yourself will get you nowhere. Simply wasting the energy of your brain cells. Practing gratitude can help you develop self-acceptance. Don’t be merciless to yourself, and forgive yourself for the things you feel bad about.
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Writing:
Writing down your negative thoughts or worries can reduce the burden of your thoughts. It will help in relieving your anxiety somewhat.
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Therapy:
Research says that ‘cognitive-behavioural therapy’ is a better solution for treating overthinking. Your therapist will help you distract yourself. Share your thoughts with them; they’ll help you find out why you tend to overthink and how you can solve it. They can also help you improve your communication levels so that you don’t feel lonely and overthink. This can also improve your relationships.
Final Takeaway
Overthinking is not acceptable for your physical and mental health conditions. Stop yourself from overthinking through the above-mentioned tips. It would lead you to a satisfying life. Try to seek help from a therapist if you can’t work it out yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Is Overthinking A Mental Disorder?
A: No, it is not recognized as mental disorder but it may be a symptom of depression or other mental health cases.
Q2: Why Do We Overthink things?
A: Overthinking can develop from unsure of yourself, fear of making mistakes, and nervous about your future
Q3: Is Overthinking A Mental Illness?
A: It is not a mental illness. It can be a symptom of depression or anxiety. There is a need to address this problem when it affects your life.
