Why Is Overthinking Not Good for Us?
Overthinking can often lead us to fixate too long on a decision. But why do we overthink and how exactly do we stop?
An individual makes approximately 35,000 decisions a day. That is a prodigious number of decisions and borderlines improbable. But the truth is most of the decisions we make are so rooted in our subconscious that we do not pay attention to most of them. Now imagine if you spent a significant amount of time painstakingly going through each of the decisions you make. That person is me. Whether I am ordering food or deciding my article topics for the coming weeks, I often find myself circling back to each decision, wondering if that was truly the right call to make.
If you, like me, tend to overthink, you also know that it is not a one-time thing either; causing us to second guess ourselves and doubt the ‘rightness’ of our decisions often leading to inaction. So does that mean we remain stuck in this never-ending loop of thinking too much about something without ever doing something about it? But before we consider how to avoid overthinking we need to understand what it is and why we do it.
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What Is Overthinking?
Overthinking is defined as the process of thinking extensively about something, to the point that it becomes maladaptive rather than useful. When we overthink, we are so preoccupied about one specific thing, that we are unable to shift our attention to anything else that might need it. This process is not just restricted to decisions that we have made in the past but also includes the decisions at hand.
Although rethinking our past behaviours and actions might be considered to be a form of introspection, it rarely if ever, results in something fruitful. Introspection allows for reflection on our behaviours, which can help us restructure our approach to future decision-making processes to be more effective. If it is not controlled, however, it can result in overthinking. But despite this risk of losing control, many of us reflect on our actions and behaviours from the past. So at what point do we cross the line to overthinking?
Signs That You Are Overthinking
First, it is important to know that despite being completely different to one another, overthinking and problem-solving can be quite similar. Problem-solving involves seeking a definitive solution to a problem while overthinking is when we are more focused on the problem itself.
The following are just a few signs that you have a tendency to overthink:
Dwelling on events that have occurred in the past
Second-guessing your decisions and/or actions
Expecting a negative outcome
Being over-critical of each action or behaviour carried out
Your brain seems to never take a break
Reminding yourself of your past mistakes
Sometimes to avoid experiencing these, overthinkers tend to defer the responsibility of decision-making to others, often expressing themselves to have ‘no opinion’. This helps overthinkers avoid falling down the rabbit hole of thinking and rethinking about their decisions and/or actions.
Why Do We Overthink?
So what makes us overthink our decisions and/or actions? This section explores 4 major reasons why we end up overthinking.
a. Anxiety
Anxiety and overthinking tend to go hand in hand with each other. An anxious brain is constantly in a state of hypervigilance, always on the lookout for potential threats. It makes individuals think of all possibilities in various scenarios and also what might go wrong. Furthermore, it leads to us internalising our thoughts and believing that they represent reality, which is not always the case.
b. Trauma
While anyone can partake in overthinking, individuals who have experienced trauma tend to be more susceptible to it. According to LA-based therapist Danielle Syslo, negative experiences such as trauma or neglect during childhood can significantly change the development of our brain, resulting in an individual being caught in a lifelong state of hypervigilance. Overthinking tends to make individuals over-analyse themselves trying to find ‘flaws’ in order to validate something that they have been conditioned to believe as a result of their trauma. This ultimately gives rise to feelings of shame, which leads to more overthinking perpetuating a cycle that never ends.
c. Perfectionism
Although striving for perfectionism can motivate individuals to complete tasks by ensuring top quality, it can also trigger feelings of anxiety delaying us from completing our tasks. Individuals who strive for perfectionism find it challenging to move on to things because they are not satisfied with the outcome. Moreover, this leads individuals to experience analysis paralysis, which is an individual’s inability to take action regarding their thoughts or decisions. Perfectionists are so keen to find the best solution that they often tend to overlook the toll it takes on themselves and by extension their lives.
d. The Illusion of Control
We, humans, tend to avoid uncertainty at all costs. Researchers have suggested that the fear of the unknown is fundamental in nature and is experienced by all of us. In fact, it is an individual’s ability to overcome their fears of the unknown that is considered to be the foundation of a healthy and resilient mind. The fear of the unknown in fact evokes feelings of helplessness and that everything is out of our control. Thus, to avoid these feelings, individuals tend to overthink a lot of the unknown as a means of gaining back some semblance of control to avoid feeling helpless.
How Can You Overcome Overthinking?
Now that we know a few potential reasons as to why we often find ourselves overthinking about something or the other, how do we stop it? Like many behaviours that affect our mental well-being, overthinking too can be reduced and even avoided. Below are some ways in which we can get out of the rut that is overthinking.
a. Challenge your Thoughts
An effective way to prevent falling deeper into the pitfalls of overthinking is by considering your worries and ruminations more objectively. Moreover, acknowledging that not all our thoughts are true can aid the process as well. When we have negative thoughts we need to step back and consider whether these thoughts hold any value and if they are realistic.
Another way we can challenge these intrusive negative thoughts is through cognitive reappraisal. This is the process through which we shift the way we perceive our thoughts in order to change the emotions we experience. By incorporating more positive reappraisals we restructure the way we think about something to be more positive. For example, instead of thinking ‘what if something bad happens?’, we consider the question ‘what if everything turns out okay?’. This subsequently reduces the distress many of us experience as a result of overthinking something and also allows us to take back some control over what our brain is thinking.
b. Differentiate Between Problem-Solving & Overthinking
As mentioned previously overthinking can often be mistaken to be problem-solving. Although overthinking may provide us with the occasional insight as to how to approach a problem, it is more of an avoidance coping strategy. Research has shown that women who overthink take longer to seek medical help after coming across a breast lump. Thus, to move towards actively seeking solutions, we need to consider adopting strategies that will help us reduce the chances of repeating any mistakes instead of overthinking about all that went wrong.
c. Beware of Your Triggers
Pay attention to the specific situation that triggers overthinking. Once we begin to observe and understand the pattern of our triggers, we can develop coping strategies as a means of dealing with scenarios that are bound to trigger our overthinking.
d. Distract Yourself
It seems quite straightforward but not many of us think about distracting ourselves when we are deep into overthinking about something. Distractions give us a break from all the tedious thinking, allowing us to shift our attention onto more productive things. And in cases where we are overthinking a problem, taking a break can be all that is needed for our minds to come up with an effective solution.
Breaking the habit of overthinking can be hard but it is not impossible. It takes a lot of conscious effort in order to avoid falling into the rabbit hole of second-guessing our actions. The next time you find yourself spiralling deep into the various scenarios that could have or will go wrong, the above strategies can potentially provide some respite from the process of thinking and rethinking.
References Bomyea, J., Ramsawh, H., Ball, T. M., Taylor, C. T., Paulus, M. P., Lang, A. J., & Stein, M. B. (2015). Intolerance of uncertainty as a mediator of reductions in worry in a cognitive behavioral treatment program for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 33, 90–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.05.004 Lyubomirsky, S., Kasri, F., Chang, O., & Chung, I. (2006). Ruminative response styles and delay of seeking diagnosis for breast cancer symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25(3), 276–304. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2006.25.3.276 |