What is Oversharing? Oversharing is when you say more than is appropriate in a given situation or to a specific person. You can overshare in-person or via email, social media, or text message. Often, what you say becomes oversharing when you don't have a deep enough connection with someone.
06/9They are narcissistic
If a person is a narcissist, or they feel inadequate, they often end up sharing everything that comes to mind to make sure they are heard. The insecurity of feeling ignored or too much self-validation overpowers their ability to decide what to share or not.
Oversharing doesn't create intimacy. Oversharing is self-absorption masked as vulnerability. This may also signal emotional neediness and/or lack of boundaries.
Oversharing is a common struggle among people who lack personal boundaries. It's not a conscious decision, but it often leaves us feeling icky and depleted. Oversharing usually comes from a desire to connect.
“Trauma dumping refers to the oversharing of difficult emotions and thoughts with others,” Dr. Prewitt explains. “It is not a clinical term used by mental health providers, but people who engage in 'trauma dumping' often share traumatic events or stressful situations with others during inappropriate times.”
Oversharing can all too often be a smokescreen for a serious psychological issue, including things like anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder. And the first hint can be whether you can control your blather or not.
Oversharing is about poor boundaries. It's a misplaced request for emotional labour or support that is inappropriate for the wider situation or the relationship with another person. It comes from a purely selfish place.
Being careless with your privacy can open you and your family up to everything, from cyberbullying and theft to extortion and kidnap. Criminals can use social media geo-tagging, landmarks and research into your typical behaviour or schedule.
Why is oversharing risky? By posting personal details you could make it easier for criminals to learn important information about you. For example: Posting photos from the trip you're currently on could alert criminals that you're currently out of town.
“Your anxiety makes you talk uncontrollably [and] the more you share the more anxious you get but you can't stop,” she says. Lastly, the clinical psychologist says oversharing can also be linked to “a part of you that feels lonely and is looking for connection.”
In the case of manipulation, oversharing may mean that you lack strong boundaries, which could put you in the way of manipulation (Lusinski 2020).
Oversharing. It can be hard to process and filter the constant thoughts, heightened feelings, and energy levels of a manic episode. This can sometimes result in feeling unable to stop oneself from sharing random or inappropriate compulsive thoughts, even in serious situations.
overexplained; overexplaining. transitive + intransitive. : to explain (something) to an excessive degree. The stories tended to be as simple as a good children's picture-book, so that nothing needed to be overexplained.
Make a brief, light apology
A few examples (said in a quick, casual tone): "Sorry, that joke was in poor taste." "Sorry, I just realized I cut you off a few times." "Sorry, I'm oversharing.
According to Banks, overexplaining can be a trauma response and can develop as a result of gaslighting. She adds that anxiety or ADHD can also lead to overexplaining and it can happen to those who grew up with a strict upbringing where “you had to justify your choices”.
An Open Book
In Daring Greatly, Brown explains the difference between vulnerability and oversharing. Vulnerability is based on mutuality and requires boundaries and trust. It's not oversharing, it's not purging, it's not indiscriminate disclosure, and it's not celebrity-style social media information dumps.
You may see over-explaining as a way to be honest or to boost another person's emotional state. It could also be that you are a chattier person, especially when you feel you can contribute to the situation, and, once stimulated, you talk too much.
If you share too much with someone, they may start to use your information against you. Oversharing can also have negative consequences for your mental health. Constantly sharing your problems with others can often create more problems, like increasing your anxiety and making you feel isolated and ashamed.
When we disclose something personal about ourselves we feel vulnerable. Usually if what we have said feels shameful to us we ruminate on it hence the guilt and regret. However this rumination often comes from toxic shame. Edit: 2022.
Oversharing traumatic or difficult experiences on others in a repeated or unsolicited way can push them away. Recognizing that you might be a trauma dumper can help you learn healthy ways to cope with trauma and maintain relationships.