The Dangers Of Overthinking It can take a serious toll on your well-being. Research says dwelling on your shortcomings, mistakes, and problems increases your risk of mental health problems. And as your mental health declines, your tendency to ruminate increases, which can lead to a vicious cycle that is hard to break.
Overthinking can change the way you work with others and the way you do things. It can significantly affect your personal life, social life and work-life too. Most importantly, overthinking may also cause emotional distress.
Overthinking can put you under constant stress and stress can increase levels of cortisol, which can wear down your brain's ability to function properly. It can even kill brain cells and reduce the size of the brain.
However, there are times when this very power becomes a curse. It's called overthinking and is characterised by too many thoughts about something for a prolonged period of time. It often ends up draining us mentally and the fear that takes over reduces our ability to make sound decisions.
“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (NLT). Worry and anxiety are not heavenly things. When you're tempted to fall into the cycle of overthinking, direct your thoughts to God's ways instead.
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.
Traumatic events in the past, stress experienced in the present, and high pressures or demands of life can also be the cause of overthinking in someone. “The impact of overthinking if it occurs for a long time is one of them is declining physical health.
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.
Toxic thoughts are false beliefs that negatively influence your life (and the lives of those who are close to you). Your thinking can also affect your health, sleep patterns, anxiety levels, and more. Consider these examples of toxic thinking: Personalizing failure. Fearing rejection.
If you're feeling drained at the end of a demanding day at the office, it could be you've been thinking too much. Researchers have found that too much use of the gray matter can lead to mental fatigue, making it harder to make decisions.
According to a recent study published in the journal Experimental Psychology, researchers found smiling — even a fake smile — can have a positive impact on mood. Essentially, triggering certain facial muscles by smiling can "trick" your brain into thinking you're happy.
Too much positivity is toxic because it can harm people who are going through difficult times. Rather than being able to share genuine human emotions and gain unconditional support, people who are faced with toxic positivity find their feelings dismissed, ignored, or outright invalidated.
It may be hard to love an overthinker because there are times when you have to step up in the relationship. You might have to make decisions, offer support, and give them their space when you feel like you need some of these things yourself. However, this doesn't mean that you won't get anything back from your mate.
Patience is the key to peace, but with overthinkers it is nonexistent. They know that their partners might be stuck or busy, but they will always choose the most terrible option, and stress over it. They have the compulsive desire to control everything because waiting just too mainstream for them.
Overthinking is also often associated with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and borderline personality disorder. To break the habit, Carroll says a good first step is to take note of what triggers your overthinking.
Someone driven to worry or anxiety through thinking. worrier. worrywart. neurotic. fussbudget.
If you are in love with an overthinker, you need to be able to give them their space in a way that isn't threatening to the relationship. You have to let them come to their decisions on their own. It might take time, but they'll get there.
Overthinking can be an early indicator or symptom of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. To stop overthinking, you can try challenging your thoughts, reaching out for support from loved ones, or finding a mental healthcare professional for extra help.
Often overthinking can be the result of feeling strong emotions of fear, panic, anger, excessive worry, etc. Identifying and challenging these feelings and thoughts may be an effective place to start.