Dramatic, annoying, sensitive, these are all common words used to describe a person that's an overthinker. But have you ever stopped to think about the complications and struggles that overthinkers have to deal with in their daily lives? Overthinking is frequent in people of all ages, and it's a problem that if it is not controlled and addressed promptly, can start taking a toll on somebody's mental health and therefore affect their everyday lives. 

 

For starters, it's important to get in-depth on what an overthinker actually is and how their minds work.  When a person starts overthinking, their brain immediately switches to “analysis mode”. This makes people try to predict what will happen in the future and start recreating different scenarios in their minds about what could happen before or after an event has taken place. Many times overthinking happens as a method to get rid of anxiety. Yet, in most cases, it just further stimulates it, since your brain will try to get rid of a problem but ends up coming up with many others.  Overthinking can usually be divided into two main categories: agonizing about the future and contemplating the past. Both of which put people's minds in an endless spiral of worries and thoughts that are really hard to get rid of. Overthinking has been associated with many mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and many others. However, many people struggle with overthinking without necessarily having been diagnosed with a mental illness.

 

Overthinking has many effects on people's daily lives. Simple tasks like going out with friends, speaking to a group of people or someone, ordering food at a restaurant, participating in class, going shopping, and sometimes even to being with or talking to people you are close to, and many, many, more situations, are things that can trigger an overthinker. These triggering situations cause them to start ruminating, meaning, dwelling about the same thing for an extended period to the point where many are paralyzed in fear and end up preventing them from doing things they want to do. 

 

Making decisions is especially hard for people that are overthinkers; they could dwell about it for hours on end, and it starts affecting their productivity, overall well-being, friendships, relationships, sleep schedule, and many lose important opportunities due to the fear and worry caused by overthinking. It's important to clarify that stressing out about a current situation, having anxiety over a life changing decision, or just being nervous before a presentation, does not mean you are an overthinker, that's just human nature, but spending hours even days worrying about a presentation and thinking about every scenario possible, and everything that could go wrong is not normal and is a reality for overthinkers.

 

I believe it's important to take notice that, just because this is such a hard problem to control does not mean it's impossible. 

The following actions or activities are a couple of simple steps you can take in the right direction to start regulating your overthinking mind. One thing you can do is seek a psychologist and ask for help, which is nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes, talking to a professional is the best way to get guidance and support on how to control your mind. Also, exercise and practicing a sport or doing a specific hobby you like can help free your mind and help you keep calm too; being conscious and aware of what triggers those over-thinking patterns can help you regulate them and know what to look out for when you know a certain thing can trigger you to overthink. Another way is asking for help from friends and family, find a really close family member or a friend you feel comfortable speaking to. Sometimes just sharing your thoughts with someone can help ease your mind. And finally, try to outsmart your thoughts, challenge them to try to think if what you overthink is really reasonable or logical. Try to look at it objectively, and see if what you are worrying about is actually worth it.

 

To sum up,  overthinking is a very common problem, so don't feel like you are alone when dealing with it. Many things contribute to overthinking and the effect it can have on someone's daily life, and well-being is significant. However, to every problem, there is a solution and you can try to control your overthinking mind. So next time you feel like you are falling into the dark spiral of overthinking, look it in the eye and prove and let it know you're stronger.

 

 

SOURCES 

 

Anderson, S., & Gomez, B. (2021, July 12). What Is Overthinking, and How Do I Stop Overthinking Everything? GoodRx. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/healthy-mind/how-can-i-stop-overthinking-everything

 

Anderson, S., & Gomez, B. (2021, July 12). What Is Overthinking, and How Do I Stop Overthinking Everything? GoodRx. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/healthy-mind/how-can-i-stop-overthinking-everything

Morin, A. (2019, January 7). 10 Signs You're an Overthinker | Inc.com. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/10-signs-you-think-too-much-and-what-you-can-do-about-it.html