Have you ever wondered how many stars are there in the night sky?  Or have you ever thought about how life on earth came into existence? If you did, then I have got some good news for you. You are just a normal person and not an OVERTHINKER.

Just Kidding. 

Overthinking is not about thinking something that surprises you or makes you want to know more about it. It’s called as “Learning”. It’s also not about thinking the same thing over and over again until you arrive at a solution. It’s a lot more complicated than that.

In this article, I’ll be explaining to you what overthinking is, how it starts, what it does to you and why you should not fear it but rather make the most out of it. Let’s get started.

What is overthinking? 

I always start off my posts with a quote or a definition.

The Art of creating problems that weren’t even there.

Overthinking

This gives you a hint of what overthinking is. Basically, it’s about thinking about something that worries you and relating it to something else, relating that something to another something and so on… It makes your mind think about a lot of negative outcomes that might or might not happen in the future. It also makes you mentally tired, which in turn affects your day to day activities and on a major note, your health as well. 

It can also trigger suicidal tendencies which is one of the common behaviors over thinkers exhibit at a later stage. So, it’s better to nip it in the bud before it grows and curls around you. 

Why people overthink?

Every living adult in this world overthinks at a certain point of time in their life. Many studies and research have found that overthinking is common among teenagers and people who are aged around 25 to 35 years. 

Humans, in general, are in the pursuit of happiness. When they tend to lose that happiness, they start to worry and when they worry, they think a lot and when they think a lot, they only think about the things that made them unhappy or what we usually refer to as “Problems”.

A student in his/her school days thinks mostly about getting good grades and making their parents proud. A teenager who’s into college thinks a lot about his career when he graduates. A working adult thinks about his/her performance in their company, their family, health and their own personal problems. Overthinking starts right from childhood and only the things we overthink about changes from time to time and not the behavior itself. 

Overthinking problems:

Now, let’s look at the problems over-thinkers face, that affects their day to day life.

• It leads to a lot of mental stress, keeping you in a delusional state.
• It affects your day to day life and your performance at work.
• It makes you isolated from your family and friends.
• It makes you think about a bunch of random things, which might not be relevant.
• It makes you more aggressive and less tolerant.
• It breaks your character and changes your attitude.
• It may lead to the consumption of alcohol and usage of drugs and in the worst case, suicidal tendencies. 

If you feel like you have anyone or some of these, then you might consider overthinking as a risk factor and try to control it.

As I mentioned earlier, all humans overthink at some point of time in their life, so don’t get so stressed about it. Let me give you some tips on how to overcome overthinking, make the most out of it and being productive at the same time.

Conquering overthinking

You overthink. So what? It’s something to be proud of, rather than hiding inside an invisibility cloak (Harry Potter fans can understand this 😉 ). 

Problems are what makes over thinkers, OVER-THINKERS. The problem can be either personal or work-related. The more you focus on the problem, the better your overthinking is and “better” here doesn’t mean any good. So, how can you not think about the problem when the problem is what that’s causing all this trouble? 

I don’t fix my problems. I fix my thinking. Then the problems fix themselves.

Louise L. Hay

That’s right!!!

Fix the way you think. The mind is the source of all power and if you think you can do something, then you can do it. Every problem has a solution and the solution is the way you think about the problem. If you think it is big, then it grows. If you think it is small, it shrinks. Here are some tips to tackle your thought process.

• Whenever you start overthinking, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Try to think about the good that has happened to you till now.
• Over-thinkers generally fall into an unhealthy lifestyle. Try to have a healthy lifestyle. Do some yoga or exercises, drink lots of water and eat as healthy as possible.
• Try talking to someone close to you, someone you trust and get their feedback.
• An idle mind can also make you overthink. So keep yourself involved in things you like to do and stay productive every day. If you are not sure how to be productive, then I recommend you read this article of mine where I have explained how being productive is a choice that you make every day. 

Conclusion

We are at the end of the article and I hope you found it helpful. 

If yes, please leave a comment on how you overcame overthinking, so that it would help others reading this as well.

If no, also please leave a comment on how this article can be improved, so that it would help me writing better going further 😊 .

And try to stay positive, no matter what happens. Overthinking is not a curse. It’s a boon that you haven’t realized yet.

Arigato Gozaimasu 😊.

Vocabulary :
nip in the bud – To stop something at an early stage.
pursuit – Going after or chasing after something.
delusional – based on or having faulty judgment; mistaken.
boon – a thing that is helpful or beneficial.