No, overthinking isn't a recognized mental health condition, but it can be a symptom of depression or anxiety. Overthinking is commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Duke. GAD is characterized by the tendency to worry excessively about several things.
Often overthinking is a byproduct of anxiety or depression. If this is the case, you can treat your anxiety or depression to reduce overthinking. You may also find that overthinking only materializes when you need to make a tough life decision or are dealing with your insecurities.
"Studies show that ruminating on stressful events can, over time, lead to anxiety and depression," warns Dr. Fowler. "From a mental health standpoint, anxiety can affect your ability to cope with everyday stressors, and depression results in sadness, loneliness and feelings of emptiness."
Someone that overthinks tends to think in extremes or absolutes, which can lead to several negative emotions. For example: if you fail an exam, your thoughts quickly turn into "I'm a complete failure – I will never succeed in life." One negative thought spirals into another one.
Fear is one of the most common causes of overthinking. When people are afraid, they tend to ruminate on their thoughts and become fixated on worst-case scenarios. This can lead to a cycle of negative thinking and can make it difficult to focus on positive outcomes.
Overthinking strikes all of us at some point, but if it goes unchecked and unresolved, overthinking can certainly morph healthy relationships into toxic relationships. If you fall victim to your thoughts and allow them to go too far, they can end up driving a wedge of distrust between you and other people in your life.
People who overthink tend to score high in the neurotic department. Neuroticism is one of the five big personality traits, along with openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness. It's linked to anxiety, fear, moodiness, worry, envy and frustration.
There is nothing wrong with dating an overthinker. This type of person needs reassurance throughout your relationship and likes to know what is going on with you in great detail. In other words, there may be some aspects of their behavior that you have to get used to when you date an overthinker.
Overthinking, negative thoughts and depression
Overthinking is a symptom of many different mental health issues – primarily generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Many people who are depressed also experience symptoms of anxiety, and vice versa. This means lots of people with depression may overthink situations.
Overthinking will impact the brain
Overthinking changes the structure and connectivity of the brain leading to mood disorders therefore it can lead to mental illnesses such as anxiety, stress, and depression. Moreover, it can decrease your energy to focus and can affect your problem solving and decision making power.
Cortisol is also known as 'the fight or flight hormone' which explains its role in connection with fear-based overthinking that amplifies negative beliefs and causes destructive behavior patterns associated with worry and fear.
Deep thought is solution-focused. It aims to solve problems and is purposeful. Overthinking, on the other hand, is open-ended, circular and doesn't provide useful insights. For example, being preoccupied with what your colleagues think of you does nothing to move you ahead.
Overthinkers may also be deeply observant, detail-oriented, and wonderfully empathetic — traits that any team or organization would proudly welcome. So if you want to stop overthinking and wield your deep-thinking superpowers for good, read on.
In fact, there are 9 types of overthinking that many people tend to go through – as outlined by “The Depression Project” – and those 9 types will be explained in this article. Worrying about the future: This type of overthinking addresses your stressors to potentially damaging events – whether small or big ones.
Overthinking can be harmful to our emotional health, especially when it's directed at unwanted, spontaneous, negative thoughts, images, or memories. Fortunately, we can learn to curb this unhelpful way of thinking through greater self-awareness and the practice of mental disengagement.
While overthinking itself is not a mental illness, it is associated with conditions including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance use disorders. Rumination can be common in people who have chronic pain and chronic illness as well, taking the form of negative thoughts about that pain and healing from it.
Overthinking is a sign of intelligence insofar that you need to be intelligent enough to be able to think and re-think until you have overthought. It is, however, not necessarily a sign of high intelligence.
Anxiety and Relationship Problems: Overthinking
Negative, anxious thoughts in relationships cause worries about the relationship, what-ifs, worst-case scenarios, and dread. These manifest as jealousy, anger, distrust, and paranoia. Challenges arise when people act on these thoughts.
Overthinkers appear more insecure than they really are. Because of your indecisive nature it may cause others to view you as unsure of yourself. This becomes apparent in working situations because you take too long to make decisions for clients or projects.
What drives this is underlying anxiety. Common forms include worrying, perfectionism, struggle with making decisions, and excessive control over yourself and others. Keys to coping include getting your rational brain online, using your gut reactions as important information, and taking acceptable risks.
Overthinking in relationships can lead to a myriad of challenges. Essentially, you're living in the future or the past and aren't able to be emotionally available for your partner in the moment. You can find yourself experiencing significant emotional distress because of the anxiety that comes from overthinking.