The classic overthinking definition tells us it is a process of excessively analyzing, scrutinizing, and replaying thoughts while unhealthily fixating on negative possibilities, the mistakes one made in the past, and future uncertainties. It's repetitive and unproductive, often leaving you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and mentally exhausted. It's quite common in people who suffer from anxiety and depression. This article is going to explore the phenomenon that is overthinking, so that you won't have wasted countless hours trying to stop overthinking the wrong way. Let's start your journey to practice self acceptance, and avoid jumping to incorrect conclusions.

Types of Overthinking

Overthinking doesn’t always manifest in the same way; it's one of the mental health conditions that varies depending on the focus of your thoughts. Depending on what you're focusing on, it'll manifest in distinct patterns. There are two main categories of overthinking: 'Rumination' and 'Worry'. They're both unproductive, and ideally you'd want to generally stop overthinking as they significantly impact your mental well-being. Let's take a deeper look into what the different types of overthinking are, and how they can potentially impact you.

Rumination

Rumination is a repetitive pattern of negative thoughts, often centered on past events and their perceived consequences. So, rumination encompasses overthinking involving the past. Rumination is primarily associated with depressive disorders. This type of overthinking involves thinking negatively and repetitively about things that have already happened. This flow of thoughts feels endless, like the brain won't shut and go on working despite one's wish to stop it. People who struggle with rumination end up dwelling on past mistakes day in and day out, even though it doesn't provide them any new insights or solutions.

Typically, these thoughts are followed by negative emotions like regret, guilt, and shame. Being associated with depression, it can prolong negative feelings and even make it more difficult for you to move on from whatever it was that you were ruminating over. Some of the most common things people ruminate over are awkward social interactions, poor life choices, and even indulging in a melancholy vibe because they've gotten used to it.

Worry

'Worry' is defined as a chain of thoughts and associated negative feelings over anticipated future threats. As such, worry encompasses overthinking involving the future. Worry is primarily associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD and other anxiety disorders. Basically, people begin overthinking things that could potentially happen in the future, but in an unproductive manner. It's characterized by 'What If' scenarios which tend to go out of control, bordering on unrealistic worst case scenarios. People who struggle with worry often spiral into anxiety, and the issue with this is that it doesn't result in problem solving.

People will worry over their finances or their health, the path their relationships are taking, work projects they may have, their life plans, their family's future, and so much more. It's accompanied by a sense of anticipatory dread which becomes debilitating, where the leadup to every future event is preluded by continuously imagining worst case scenarios. Remember to visit your mental health professional if you feel that your worrying has become truly overwhelming.

The Impact of Rumination and Worry

Even though rumination and worry are distinctly different, they often coexist. This creates a cycle of unproductive thoughts that harm mental health. Regardless of which type a person struggles with, overthinking hinders problem solving, impairs decision-making, and worsens mental health issues. With both types of overthinking, the problem isn't actually what a person is overthinking about, rather the inability to control their repetitive, unproductive pattern of negative thoughts that makes it difficult to move forward or even engage in the present moment. In the words of the wise Master Oogway, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift".

Common Triggers

Obsessing over an event from the past stems from certain situations or ways of thinking. If you want to manage your overthinking, the first step is to understand what triggers it. This can help you figure out what the root of your problems is, and help you begin working on it. The most common triggers are negative events that bring stress, as well as perfectionism and a fear of failure.

Stressful Events

Having something important coming up can often trigger overthinking. It could be a deadline for a work project, an anniversary coming up, rent being due soon, or even health concerns. These sorts of things can cause you to dwell on every possibility, leading to a cascade of worrying and rumination. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which often come together with different sorts of anxiety, can provoke overthinking for a decent amount of time, even when the traumatic event is long gone.

Whatever the situation, you might second guessing your decisions, rehash old arguments trying to figure out what needs to be done differently in the future, and so on. You'll begin to criticize yourself inwardly and your mind will race. Once you're thinking about 'what if' and 'should have', you may end up in an endless cycle of stress which will make it hard to either relax or focus, ultimately leading you to become even more anxious while remaining unproductive all the same.

Perfectionism and a Fear of Failure

In this modern age where just about everything is incredibly competitive, you're likely to set high standards for yourself. While that's fine, you won't always be able to achieve those high standards. Being unable to constantly achieve those high standards can end up triggering a fear of failure brought upon by the desire to be perfect. A fear of failure can then snowball into you not even attempting tasks out of the stress of failure, because of constant self-scrutiny and worry about not measuring up. This can then lead to a heavily impacted sense of self-worth, worsening your confidence.

With your mind in a constant state of anxiety and self-doubt, you are likely to end up dwelling on all the possible negative outcomes no matter how miniscule the odds of them happening, instead of being able to learn and grow. However, overthinking is not always linked to chronis anxiety and can occur in specific situations.

You may feel trapped in a cycle of overthinking, but it is possible to break free with the right strategies.

How Do Triggers Work With Each Other?

Perfectionism and challenging events can overlap and amplify each other. Depending on the type of event that happened, you could face a fear of failure. It could be something like a job interview, or even a date which amplifies your pressure of perfectionism and fear of failure. Understanding these triggers is a key component to develop strategies to manage your overthinking, which will then let you develop healthy coping skills.

Effects on Mental Health

Research suggests that overthinking contributes to worse mental wellbeing. When you're constantly obsessing, ruminating, and dwelling, it contributes to worse stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as a severely impacted sense of self-esteem and decision-making abilities. Let's take a deeper look at how it can affect your mental health.

Links to Anxiety and Depression

Worry and rumination are associated with anxiety and depression respectively. Overthinking can be a trigger for anxiety and depression, but it can also be a symptom of it. That means there's a good chance that overthinking can create an endless cycle. Your constant worry about potential future problems will worsen your anxiety. As you overthink potential negative outcomes, you become more anxious, which then makes you overthink more. In a similar vein, rumination involves dwelling over past mistakes, failures, and even awkward social interactions, which is a symptom of depression. Constantly rehashing the negative events of your life reinforces feelings of sadness, guilt, and hopelessness. That means you'll end up trapped in a loop of anxiety and depression where your overthinking simply feeds it further.

Impact on Self-Esteem and Decision Making

When you're constantly doubting yourself, your choices, and stressing over the future without making any meaningful progress on what your actions could be, you'll significantly lower your self-esteem and impact your ability to make decisions with confidence. By constantly overanalyzing and criticizing yourself, your sense of self-worth is eroded. By feeding into perfectionism and a fear of failure, you'll create a situation where you feel you're never good enough, and this ends up crippling your confidence.

In a similar vein, overthinking can make you feel like your brain is incapable of making any decisions. The fear of the 'wrong choice' will leave you continuously checking pros and cons, often delaying making the decision. Wasting time in this way means missed opportunities and higher stress. You'll feel as though you're unable to trust your own instincts and lack the confidence to make the right choice, which then makes it harder to navigate your daily life. Continuously analyzing all potential outcomes and second-guessing yourself will limit your ability to trust your own judgement and self-assurance.

Overthinking Versus Analytical Thinking

It's important to differentiate analytical thinking from overthinking. Overthinking is detrimental and unproductive, whereas analytical thinking is a valuable tool for problem-solving and decision-making. Let's try to understand how they're different so that we can break free from overthinking.

Recognizing the Difference

First off, what is analytical thinking? Analytical thinking is characterized by a structured, logical, and objective approach. By choosing to think analytically, you'd be examining information, identifying patterns, and evaluating potential solutions. Instead of obsessing over repetitive, unproductive, and emotionally charged thought patterns, you'll have a deliberate, purposeful process that's centered around understanding and finding solutions.

With analytical thinking, you'll have a focused exploration of an issue or a problem, moving step by step through relevant data. It's impossible to eliminate emotion from your thoughts, but allowing it to take a backseat and not drive all of your thoughts makes it easier for you to approach your issues rationally. This promotes clarity and helps you make informed decisions.

Still, emotions play a role in analytical thinking, too, but they are regulated rather than eliminated.

Overthinking isn't like the goal-oriented approach of analytical thinking. You'll get stuck in a loop of worries, doubts, and 'what ifs'. Overthinking tends to fixate on the problem rather than potential solutions, which ends up making the situation worse because time has passed and you've only dwelled on negative feelings. That leaves you stuck with feelings of anxiety, frustration, and self-doubt.

When Overthinking Becomes Harmful

Your thoughts can shift from being helpful to a source of distress in a number of ways. Mental health professionals claim that overthinking can become problematic, so here are the signs you might want to redirect your focus:

• Repetitive and unproductive: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting change is insanity. In the same vein, repeating the same thoughts and scenarios in your head without changing your perspective of it isn't going to help you get out of your rut. When you notice that you're going in loops thinking the same thoughts with no progress, it's time to change your approach.
• Emotionally charged: Emotions are a core part of the human experience, but you can't let it drive every single part of your life. If your thoughts are accompanied by anxiety, worry, self-doubt, or other negative emotions that negatively impact your mood and decision-making, it's time to work on separating the problem from the emotions. Compartmentalizing them will help you deal with it easier.
• It interferes with your decision-making: Spending too much time thinking about a harsh event to the point where you're too paralyzed in fear to make a choice out of fear of making the wrong one is problematic. You'll miss out on opportunities, and the stress of putting off your decision will eat you alive.
• It affects your daily life: If your thoughts negatively affect your daily activities, your ability to concentrate, and your relationships, it's time to address it.

Practical Examples of Overthinking

It always pays to be prepared. Identifying which aspects of your life you tend to overthink is the first step toward managing it. Let's take a peek at the most likely scenarios you might overthink to help you develop the mental tools to deal with it.

Everyday Scenarios Where Overthinking Can Occur

• Social Interactions: Even after casual conversations, you may replay the entire interaction in your head, analyzing every sentence you said and trying to imagine yourself from the others' perspective. You might worry about whether someone misinterpreted your words or perceived you as awkward. In reality, the conversation may have gone completely fine, but the overthinking will leave you riddled with social anxiety.
• Decision Making: Whenever you need to make a choice, be it about something simple or complicated, you might spend far more time than necessary just weighing all of your options.
• Work-Related Tasks: Instead of committing to a task, you find you spend more time stressing about potential mistakes and even procrastinating out of fear of failure.
• Relationships: You overanalyze your partner's words, tone, and texts. You'll often search for hidden meaning or perceived signs of conflict. Over time, this can cause resentment from your partner because you keep perceiving their words and action as something negative than what it really is.
• Personal Goals: Even on personal projects, you may have a fixation on doing everything exactly right, even if you're trying it for the first time. This desire to be perfect overwhelms you because you don't want to risk failure, causing you to feel paralyzed and unable to start.

How to Identify Overthinking in Yourself

• Difficulty focusing: It's hard for you fixate on important tasks, and sometimes even conversations because you're so wrapped up with other negative thoughts.
• Negative thoughts: You tend to be overly critical of yourself, and the majority of your thoughts are negative, characterized by a sense of worry, fear of failure, and self-doubt.
• Physical sensations: You have an increased heart rate, tense muscles, or headaches.
• Procrastination: It's difficult for you to start tasks out of fear of not doing them perfectly, or you overanalyze it and keep delaying.
• Difficulty relaxing: Even when there's nothing going on, you feel as though you can't rest. Your mind is constantly racing with ruminative or anxious thoughts. You might even find it harder to fall asleep.
• Self-criticism: You're overly critical of your actions, thoughts, and even past.
• Repetitive thoughts: You keep going over the same negative thoughts without coming to new conclusions or having any new ideas.

In Conclusion

A single pessimistic thought and even uncomfortable emotions once in a while won't be detrimental to you, but consistent overthinking where your brain is on overdrive producing intrusive thoughts, can lead to unwanted mental health conditions. The different kinds of overthinking, even the all or nothing thinking that perfectionism involves will have a significant impact on your overall quality of life.

It's important to recognize triggers, understand the difference between productive analytical thinking and destructive thought patterns, and figure out how to create healthier thinking habits and develop stronger interpersonal skills. You can ask a mental health professional for specialized help if you see that you can't succeed on your own. Being proactive is your first step to stop overthinking, wherein you'll learn more about overthinking. From this, you'll be able to understand how it affects you, and how you can regain control of your thoughts.

We hope that this article has been informative and that you're better informed on how you can safeguard your mental health.

Bibliography

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Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan, et al. “Rethinking Rumination.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 3, no. 5, Sept. 2008, pp. 400–424, journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x.

“Worry and Rumination Enhance a Positive Emotional Contrast Based on the Framework of the Contrast Avoidance Model.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36681058/, 13 Jan. 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36681058/.

Newman, Michelle G., et al. “Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Review and Theoretical Synthesis of Evidence on Nature, Etiology, Mechanisms, and Treatment.” Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, 28 Mar. 2013, pp. 275–297, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050212-185544.