Here is How Overthinking Ruins Your Day
It becomes a habit hard to break
We all overthink sometimes, but it becomes a problem when a single thought can turn into a big rumination that leads to excessive negative thinking. Overthinking involves dwelling on the past and while everyone overthinks situations every once in a while, some people battle constant negative thoughts all the time.
Your inability to get out of your head will leave you in a constant state of anguish. Overthinkers replay situations from days or even years ago, questioning every decision they ever made and fearing what might happen tomorrow.
Overthinking is dangerous and can have a lot of negative consequences on our well-being. You could get stuck in potential consequences that may never even happen and cause you unnecessary suffering. It takes a lot of mental energy to overthink. Overthinking is exhausting.
When you overthink and stress yourself out, your body produces cortisol, the stress hormone, which causes an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure. If overthinking becomes a habit, then you are in a constant state of flight or fight.
Signs of Overthinking
Overthinking comes in many forms.
- Inability to let go of something long after it’s happened.
- You constantly remind yourself of all your mistakes.
- Endless ruminating over a situation.
- Difficulty sleeping because your mind won’t shut off.
- Indecisiveness. You can’t decide what you are having for lunch.
- Worrying about the future.
- Regrets about the past.
Dangers of Overthinking
- Physical and Mental Health Issues
Overthinking affects your physical and mental health. Overthinking is physically exhausting and constantly dwelling on your shortcomings, mistakes, and problems leads to mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Other problems like headaches, body aches, and stomach problems are possible.
2. Overthinking Affects Sleep
If you are an overthinker, you know how hard it is to fall asleep when your mind won’t shut off and the thoughts won’t stop flooding in. Overthinking keeps you up at night, over analyzing the events of the day. This prevents you from entering the calm state needed to fall asleep. Rumination and worry lead to fewer hours of sleep. You wake up tired after a night of tossing and turning.
3. It Affects Your Energy Levels
Overthinking is hard work and if it keeps you up at night, you wake up feeling tired and if this goes for an extended amount of time, it significantly affects how you feel throughout the day. If your overthinking leads to anxiety or depression, you find that you are drained and overwhelmed by everything which also can cause fatigue.
4. It Affects Your Creativity
Stress blocks your creativity levels. When you are stuck in a negative overthinking, you do not have the energy to get up and be creative. The things you used to enjoy are no longer fun. You are more creative when you can find peace and quiet but when your mind is changing from thought to thought very quickly, we get stuck in a mental rut which makes it hard for creative juices to flow.
5. Overthinking Affects Your Appetite
Food is the last thing on an overthinking mind. Overthinking causes you to lose interest in food. You may skip meals, not have an appetite, and thus not have adequate nutrition to keep your energy levels up. This may lead to weight loss and fatigue. For other overthinkers, it can boost appetite and cause them to stress or worry eat, which can also lead to problems like weight gain.
6. It Affects Your Mood
Overthinking robs you of the present moment. It steals your joy and your peace of mind. Overthinking does nothing to solve your problems. All it does is torture you over and over again. An over thinker’s mood can quickly go from relaxed to panic by a single thought alone.
Breaking The Habit
Overthinking eventually becomes a habit and habits like rumination are hard to break. It will take time and practice to stop your overthinking habit, but by building your mental muscle, it is possible. Adopting new strategies and developing new ways of viewing life can help you make choices you won’t need to ruminate over. Here are a few ways to break the habit.
- Self-Awareness
The first step to break the habit is to be aware that you are overthinking. Notice when you are stuck in your head. Notice when that first negative thought enters your mind and when you are triggered. Today’s stressors include our phones ringing, text messages, social media, etc. Pay attention to the things that trigger overthinking and steer clear of them.
2. Challenge Your Negative Thought
When you notice the first negative thought enter your mind, challenge it. Just because you think a thought does not mean it’s true. You can also replace the negative thought with another. When you think “I’ve already tried and failed”, replace that thought with “but this time is different. I am smarter and wiser”. Replace the negative thought with a positive one.
3. Self-Reflection
Reflection differs from overthinking. Self-reflection is looking at your life and taking inventory. Look at yourself and your thinking habits, both positive and negative. Think about the traumas and your past experiences that have led you to become who you are. When you know who you are and understand why you do the things you do, you can then take the necessary steps to change the parts of you that are preventing you from living the life you deserve.
4. Allow Yourself to Overthink
If breaking the habit seems impossible, allow yourself to overthink. Give yourself 30 minutes each day to ruminate over worries. Allow yourself to think and feel whatever you want. When your “overthinking time” is up, move on. This requires discipline and if you do this every day, it will start to get boring. If you catch yourself overthinking outside of the set time, remind yourself to wait until the next thinking time.
5. Incorporate Mindfulness Into Your Daily Routine
Mindfulness helps you become more aware of the present moment and keeps you out of your thoughts about the past or the future. Mindfulness practices like meditation, controlled breathing, journaling, paying attention, and being aware of the way you are feeling is helpful. These practices help shift your focus from overthinking to positive thinking.
6. Train Your Brain
Train your brain to change the way it overthinks situations and how often it ruminates over the same thing. With practice, you can train your brain to think differently and think better feeling thoughts. Over time, building healthier habits and mindfulness practices can help you build the mental muscle you need to become mentally stronger and knock off your overthinking habit once and for all.
7. Distract the Mind
One negative thought can spiral into overthinking — distract yourself immediately. Get out of your head as quickly as you can and get into your physical body. Trying going for a walk or listen to a motivational podcast. Go to the gym for a quick workout or play with your kid or a pet. Listen to uplifting music or hop in the shower. Do something different to stop the negative thoughts in their tracks.
8. Talk to Someone You Trust
Opening up for the over thinker is difficult. Most times, the over-thinker is not even sure exactly what they are worried about. Their brain is just doing what it is used to doing. Talking to a therapist, a trusted friend, or a loved one can give you a fresh perspective and realize that something that seems so terrible really isn’t so bad.
Understand Breaking The Habit Won’t be Easy
Overthinking is destructive and mentally draining. It can make you feel like you’re stuck in one place, and if you don’t act, it can affect your day-to-day life. It can quickly put your health and total well-being at risk.
But like all habits, changing your destructive thought patterns can be a challenge. It is very important to be kind and gentle with yourself no matter what you are feeling. Be there for yourself like you would for a friend and be ready to put in the work to stop your overthinking habit.
Remember, you are the only person who controls how you think, feel, and behave. Beating yourself up after a mistake doesn’t help. All it does is drag you down and prevents you from taking action.