What if……?!
What if I said something inappropriate? How will I ever finish the project in time? Why isn’t he/she responding to my calls/messages?
Overthinking is caused by fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of favorable situations turning bad and so on…!
So what really happens when you Overthink?
You just can’t stop thinking about an incident, an individual, something that transpired in the past, or an on-going problem. Due to this, you keep ruminating and find it difficult to get it out of your mind. You lose interest in your immediate vicinity and activities.
- A pattern may develop where there may be a tendency to worry about past mistakes or current problems and issues, and how these might lead to negative outcomes.
- You over-analyze your day-to-day experiences and interactions with individuals in your environment and this keeps you pre-occupied all the time.
This behavior may lead to worry, anxiety and lack of inner peace. Some of us might think that only “negative” overthinking is the problem. However, it turns out that over analysis of any subject or event (even happy/positive ones) generally leads to similar symptoms.
We have a constant stream of thoughts meandering through our minds. That’s part of being human beings. However, we get to choose which ones to engage with.
Raising self-awareness throughout the day can be helpful. Now, it’s difficult to stop overthinking if you don’t realize you’re doing it – and very often, people are unable to recognize the issue. Watch your thought processes actively to understand the difference between ‘healthy ways of thinking things through’ and ‘overthinking’. If you’re able to observe that you’re overthinking, then you’re already noticing the separation of you and your mind. Becoming the observer simply implies taking a step back from your mind and becoming aware of your thinking patterns and how you’re responding to things. You decide which thoughts you pay attention to.
In addition to this, try and be more accepting of what is there. Free yourself of the need to intellectualize and/or judge every aspect of your life. And with this brings a real sense of mental and emotional comfort.
It really is that simple!
Like anything new, it may take time and practice both to allow this understanding to really resonate and to notice the benefits of it. But once you learn to do be mindful about your own thoughts it will make you feel more empowered. Knowing that you can choose which thoughts to engage with, you will be able to discard any sense of victim hood you may have felt previously.
As with any new habit, persistence is the key. Though if you observe that this habit is causing unnecessary anxiety and worry, and you are still in search for the right key to unlock this paradox then you must reach out to a counsellor (may be, online counsellor) who can help you with the journey to non worrisomeness!
Juno Clinic is on its way to be India’s leading Wellbeing Company and Mental Health Service provider globally with main focus on Quality, Ease of Reach and Approachability. We provide full stack of services including counselling, treatment and assessment. Our therapists offer counselling over video, audio or chat. The online platform has been developed specifically for a seamless counselling process, privacy, comfort and high engagement level, which can be used by therapists anywhere in the world.
