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.
Physical Health Effects
Overthinking has been linked to physical health issues such as anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic fatigue, insomnia and sleep disruption.
Overthink is driven by the logical, self-critical left side of the brain: the hemisphere which is on the look out for errors, hyper-sensitive to any slips, however small, and always ready to send in the committee of corrections to tick us off for our mistakes.
Overthinking is commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Duke. GAD is characterized by the tendency to worry excessively about several things. “Someone can develop GAD due to their genes. Or it could be personality factors like the inability to tolerate uncertainty in life.
Meanwhile, overthinking may be associated with increased stress, anxiety, and depression. Following a traumatic event, it's also common to be hypervigilant — which is when you're on high alert for danger at all times. Some people experience hypervigilance as overthinking about potential signs of trouble.
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.
Research shows that overthinking is prevalent among young (25-35-year-olds) and middle-aged adults (45-55-year- olds). Overthinking tends to be worse among women. And too much thinking can lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, emotional distress, and self-destructive behaviours.
However, it can also lead to potential misinterpretation of symptoms. Take, for example, ADHD. While most people associate ADHD with hyperactivity and impulsivity, it can also manifest in more subtle ways, such as through intrusive thoughts and overthinking.
Overthinking can create an endless cycle of stress and worry, which can ultimately cause you to feel less prepared, motivated, and confident. It can also play a role in mental health issues like anxiety and depression, so it is important to find ways to break out of such destructive thought patterns.
Put things into perspective.
The next time you catch yourself making a mountain out of a molehill, ask yourself how much it will matter in five years. Or, for that matter, next month. Just this simple question, changing up the time frame, can help shut down overthinking.
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.
Overthinking is caused due to various reasons like fear, intolerance to uncertainty, trauma, or perfectionism. Overthinking can also be a symptom of already existing mental health conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or depression.
You might be overwhelmed by the number of tasks on your to-do list or find it difficult to sit still for long periods. Your mind is always going and racing with thoughts, which can make it hard for you to concentrate on things like schoolwork or conversations with friends or family members.
The ADHD thought process is not so completely unfamiliar as to be unrecognizable, but people with ADHD might encounter some complications in their thinking. For example, someone with ADHD can be aware of some task, like a research paper. If you ask them when it's due, they may even know the calendar date.
INFP and INFJ: The Overthinkers
When it comes to these types, their anxiety can stem from an inclination to overthinking. Psychology Today defines overthinking as “an excessive tendency to monitor, evaluate, and attempt to control all types of thought,” something this INFJ knows all too well.
Although there are positive traits of an overthinker, such as patience, commitment, dedication, drive, and passion, overthinking also promotes stress, anxiety, self-consciousness, and lack of self-confidence. It can be difficult to find any mental peace when you're thinking about every situation.
In addition, medications originally designed for depression, the SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Effexor, Cymbalta, and others), are also capable of lowering the underlying level of anxiety which takes a lot of steam out of this phenomenon.
Plus, whether you're fixating on the past or catastrophizing about the future, thought patterns that are more destructive than constructive can take a toll on both your mental health and physical health. "Studies show that ruminating on stressful events can, over time, lead to anxiety and depression," warns Dr. Fowler.
The roots of overthinking can be traced back to stress and worry. Aside from these primary causes, low self-esteem and insecurity are also common contributors to excessive thinking.
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.
Child sexual abuse often also leads to borderline personality disorder, which causes incessant overthinking about what others think about you and if they will abandon you.
PTSD is characterized by specific symptoms, including intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, flashbacks, nightmares, and sleep disturbances, changes in memory and concentration, and startle responses.
While trauma in itself can pose risk to a child's healthy development, overthinking on such events makes the kid more prone to suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), says a recent study.