Do you overthink a lot ? Here's how to stop affecting you?

 


Do you also think everything endlessly and then start wondering why someone said so and so thing to you? or why that particular thing happened in your life? 

Overthinking is different for everyone. For someone including me, will overthink every single thing in his life, while for others it's once a while occurrence.

Even when problems or situations are not as big as they appear, overthinkers make it vast and scary and that is where our anxiety starts to build.

Of course, thinking and analyzing every little thing is necessary before taking any big decision, but when this pattern turns into a disorder, we can lose our minds and become the victim of self-sabotage or even disrupt our relationships.

Why Do You Overthink Everything?

The real reason behind overthinking is we desperately want answers. We are always waiting for closures and worrying about our future or regretting our past decisions. 
Sometimes we assume anything and react impatiently which leads to hampering our decisions or relationships with others.
For instance; you are talking with someone for a few days and then one day that person ghosts you, if you are a chronic thinker, you are most likely to think of every possible reason behind it and start beating yourself up.
While it's okay to find the cause as to why something happened but when that issue starts bothering you, your mental health begins to decline, which results in overthinking disorder.

10 Signs You Might Be An Overthinker

  1. I am always thinking about my past and regretting the decisions I made.
  2. I am a negative thinker and always think negatively.
  3. I replay someone's words and thoughts in my mind which I don't like.
  4. I assume that another person is my enemy and react accordingly.
  5. I distance myself from people because I think they are going to hurt me.
  6. I constantly relive my past mistakes and curse myself.
  7. I cannot make my own decisions and depend on someone else to help me with my decisions.
  8. I intentionally bring my past into my present because I have experienced the same thing before.
  9. I want deeper meanings of what people say and behave.
  10. I often worry about the things that I have no control over.

Is Overthinking A Disorder?

source:energepic.com

Overthinking is not a disorder but can be a symptom of other mental health disorders. However, there are other harmful effects of overthinking that can affect us emotionally and mentally.

Hence, if overthinking is not a disorder, it cannot be diagnosed and treated. When someone talks about overthinking disorder, he/she may be talking about an anxiety disorder that comes up when you think excessive thoughts that cause you to worry, fear, dread, and anxiety.

If you believe you are going through such thoughts that do not let you sleep properly or you feel lost, then here's what you can do to end this:

Ways To Stop Overthinking

 Imagine someone telling you to not think about a cat, what will you do? You will instantly think about it because that's how our brain works. 
So if you are told to stop overthinking, you will end up thinking more!

Although you can train your mind to not overthink by doing positive self-affirmations, I have also put up some ways that can help us to combat negative thinking:

  • Awareness-

It begins with awareness! You must be aware of what is going inside you and bothering you. Is it someone's harsh words or actions? Are you criticizing yourself for your past mistakes? are you wondering why haven't the other person called you when they were supposed to call you? We never know when these small issues can make a home inside our mind and stop us from living a peaceful life.

  • Write it out-

As soon as you find yourself thinking more than you should, grab a notebook and a pen or the notes app of your phone and start writing. Write everything that is coming into your mind either good or bad, this way you will understand the depth of your thoughts and you may realize the difference between good and bad thoughts so you won't think like that the next time.

  • Meditate-
Meditation is not only good for your mental peace but also takes care of your emotional well-being. When you will meditate for even ten minutes per day your focus would improve and your thoughts will start decreasing.


  • Distract Yourself Into Happy Things-
Sometimes it is helpful to distract yourself into those things that make you happy, enlighten your mood, and bring positivity towards you. Things like exercising, dancing, painting, going out with your friends, or whatever makes your soul happy do that because then you will not feed your mind with negative or depressing thoughts.

  • Change Your Perspective-
Whether you are afraid of something that happened in the past or any other past decisions that you once made and are regretful about that, remember that if things did not work out before, does not mean it won't happen now. Try to think differently from your usual thinking pattern.
For example; If you are always thinking that you are not going to find a job, try to think that a job that is enjoyable with more income is waiting for you and start taking inspired actions.

Conclusion

Remember overthinking is not a bad thing to do. We all are humans and sometimes we overthink little things and make them large which in the end affects us and ruins our mental health.
I am an overthinker and I exaggerate every issue I face in my life. But I am still learning how to cope up with this subject with the above-mentioned points.

I hope these strategies will also benefit you in some way and do not try to share your views with your friends and family members. 




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