6 Things about overthinking that you should know
and what to do about them
If you are wondering several times a day whether or not you are overthinking about a particular issue, you probably are.
Overthinking can be defined as the mind’s tendency to excessively monitor and constantly control all thoughts. It causes one to excessively ponder over one’s thoughts and actions and the reasons behind them. While the trait might seem helpful in essential matters, it doesn’t result in problem-solving.
Also, it doesn’t remain limited to essential issues alone. It takes up space and valuable time to ponder over things that you cannot change or situations you cannot help.
It is also different from self-reflection. Self-reflection helps you learn about yourself and is a positive process. Overthinking just focuses on the negative and repeats pointless thoughts on a loop.
Self-reflection is healthy and is used to gain perspective about oneself to improve future situations. On the other hand, overthinking is dwelling on past problems and things you don’t have any control over.
1. How do I spot overthinking in myself?
Some traits that are common to overthinking include:
- Questioning why a specific thought is occurring
- Looking for the meaning behind one’s thoughts
- A tendency to worry all the time
- A constant urge to understand how one’s mind works and why it thinks a certain way
- Repeatedly thinking about one’s mistakes.
- An inability to get specific thoughts out of your head
- Reliving embarrassing thoughts and moments, again and again, having a solid urge to rectify them
- A constant struggle to control one’s thoughts
- Creating excessive and unproductive ‘what if’ scenarios in one’s mind
- Difficulty sleeping because of intrusive thoughts
We will go into further detail and see whether or not overthinking may be a sign of intelligence, determine how bad it can be for you if it is linked to anxiety or depression, and how one can stop it.
2. Is overthinking a sign of intelligence?
If you are feeling down about overthinking all the time, you need to know that overthinking brings some good news as well.
Overthinking has been proven to be a sign of high IQ, particularly in people with high anxiety. However, it is essential to note that healthy individuals with high intelligence do not exhibit overthinking symptoms. This means that overthinking is not a prerequisite for having a high IQ.
Other than that, it has also been proven to have a direct link to creativity and can lead to having more innovative ideas.
3. Is overthinking bad for your brain?
Overthinking is bad for your brain due to several reasons:
It leads to a vicious cycle
Overthinking doesn’t stop quickly. It is a slippery slope in which each thought leads to another one. It might start with harmless questions and then turn into a negative self-talk session.
Negative thinking leads one to disengage from problems, and that further exacerbates one’s depression and anxiety. Prolonged depression can change your brain’s chemistry and your overall behavior.
It makes decision-making hard
Overthinking often creates a deep-seated fear of any consequences. The fear of making some mistake is so intense that it renders a person incapable of taking action in the first place.
All of this is also associated with the depression and anxiety overthinking causes, which ultimately affects your brain chemistry.
It decreases productivity
Overthinking means that one cannot focus on solutions. Instead of focusing on resolving issues, one’s productivity goes down as overthinking forms mental barriers to achieving actionable solutions.
Moreover, decreased productivity adds to a person’s stress. Stress has a significant impact on the brain and can even lead to the shrinkage of the hippocampus.
It disturbs your sleep cycle
Perhaps one of the most significant physical manifestations of overthinking is insomnia. Overthinking keeps you up at night, thinking about all the could haves, would haves, and should-haves.
This ultimately leads to poor sleep quality. The worry of feeling tired the next day due to lack of sleep might end up further disrupting your sleep.
A poor sleep cycle has a substantial negative impact on your brain. Some of the significant issues you could face because of it in the long run include:
- Poor memory
- Decreased cognition
- Risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s
- Risk of disorders like ADHD
It is detrimental to your mental health
From depression to anxiety to OCD, overthinking has been known to trigger and worsen mental health problems as it causes immense stress. For example, studies show that when intrusive thoughts receive negative appraisals, the risk of developing OCD increases.
Mental health problems caused by stress can get extremely severe and long-lasting. Additionally, Mothers can pass down stress to the unborn child.
We cannot stress the harmful effects of overthinking enough. The most significant factor to be noted is its role in causing and increasing stress, which is detrimental to the human brain. Stress affects human learning, memory, and cognition negatively.
4. Is overthinking a habit?
While overthinking may not seem like a habit at the start, it can quickly become one without you even realizing it because it forms a thought pattern that, if left unchecked, can spiral out of control and become a permanent habit.
As we discussed earlier, overthinking doesn’t lead to problem-solving or result generation. That is why it is imperative to remember that this activity doesn’t generate positive results as the first step to make it stop (more on this later).
It is better to catch the habit as it forms and break yourself out of it before it becomes permanent.
This requires you to actively analyze your thinking behavior and stop yourself when you notice your thoughts getting out of hand.
5. Is overthinking linked to anxiety?
Overthinking is one of the root causes of anxiety. It also increases existing anxiety, leading to the formation of avoidance behavior.
Having anxiety means that overthinking will be triggered even more, and thus the cycle continues.
Both overthinking and anxiety also have similar symptoms, such as insomnia, excessive negative thinking, and headaches.
6. How to stop overthinking and relax
There are a lot of techniques that have been proven to work on breaking the pattern of overthinking. Let’s have a closer look at them:
1. Focus on mindfulness
Several studies show the positive effects of mindfulness on overthinking and mental disorders. There are a lot of methods for self-help intervention available online.
An example is that of acceptance-based techniques that help you take control of your thoughts and actions. Remember, mindfulness takes time and patience. However, the result is worth the effort.
You can check out this article about how ashtanga yoga helps you cultivate mindfulness.
2. Start doing yoga
We discussed how overthinking is tightly linked to stress and anxiety. One of the best ways to reduce stress is to practice yoga. Studies show its effects on reducing stress levels and decreasing anxiety.
With its ability to enhance mood, yoga has therapeutic effects and should be given a shot if you want to release stress and quieten your mind.
3. Keep a ‘worrying time.’
People who overthink understand that it gets out of control and leads thoughts to be all over the place–exactly when you need them contained. This unorganized pattern requires discipline.
One of the best ways to do so is to assign a time slot to overthink. Let’s say you have two 30 minute slots in a day when you can ‘allow’ yourself to overthink. At all other times, you can remind yourself that it isn’t time to overthink.
Follow your schedule as strictly as possible and when it is time to overthink, let your mind wander. Having a proper plan frees up your mind during the rest of the day.
4. Focus on problem-solving
Whenever you catch your thoughts detracting and going off on a tangent, ask yourself whether they will result in a positive outcome such as a solution to a problem.
If not, cut them out. Consciously tell yourself to only focus on things that you can resolve. Any problem-solving activity will feel like an accomplishment and cutting out those that aren’t will free up time and mental space.
4. Develop new hobbies
We mainly overthink when we have a lot of time on our hands or perform some mental tasks. Try to break the cycle with hobbies involving physical activity. Examples include swimming, cooking, cycling, painting, dancing, volunteering at local shelters, etc.
This would give your mind less time to ponder over problems. Physical activity would also wear you out quicker, making it easier to sleep at night.
5. Reframe negative thoughts
Most of the thoughts that occur while overthinking are exaggerated and completely blown out of proportion. Try reminding yourself that things aren’t as bad as your mind is making them up to be.
For example, turning in one assignment late isn’t going to ruin your career or life. However, overthinking it might paralyze you and stop you from performing any action to rectify that one mistake.
Tell yourself that you are human and mistakes happen. Remind yourself that you will make up for it. Follow up by focusing on the steps you can take to make up.
Positive emotions break the pattern of overthinking. Examples of such emotions include gratitude, joy, love, etc. Simple things such as self-love can bring about a tremendous positive change in your outlook and your mental health in general.
Conclusion
While overthinking might seem like a never-ending problem right now, you must remind yourself that you are in charge of your mind.
Overthinking can and should be overcome. Remember to be kind to yourself. Remain patient throughout the process and don’t give up, no matter how difficult it seems.
Once you have broken the cycle, you will focus on positive aspects of your life and make your day more productive.