Often we overthink because we want our writing to be perfect. We have an image in mind of how we should look when writing and how we should sound when we type it in.
Many writers have the tendency to procrastinate and overthink every detail of their article. They shy away from doing the actual work for longer than is necessary. Don't wait until you have that perfect idea before you write and publish.
If you're overthinking your writing, you've probably become too serious about it. You're worried too much about “getting it right,” or “being a good writer.” These thoughts block creativity and can easily encourage rumination. You need to remember what it was like to have fun writing.
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 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.
While overthinking itself is not a mental illness, it is associated with conditions including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance use disorders.
The causes of writing anxiety are many. Here are just a few: Inexperience with the type of writing task. Previous negative experiences with writing (e.g. someone, maybe a teacher, has given you negative feedback or said negative things about your writing)
And the reason for this is very simple. When we write on a regular basis, what we're doing is we're making mistakes, and we don't know the mistakes we're making, but our brain works out, “Oh, you did this today”. And now you're doing that tomorrow.
These are often deeper issues, arising from our life beyond the page. They might include illness (our own or someone else's), exhaustion, stress, fear or other unresolved emotions, burnout, or any other number of things. Sometimes the cause seems to be something as simple (and vague) as a mood.
Most writers are extremely insecure. Kafka didn't even want any of his books published, living with doubts about his own talents throughout his entire career. Orwell, Hemingway and Fitzgerald all despaired that their writing would never live up to their expectations (or the expectations of their readers).
Having some level of anxiety associated with writing is normal, and often a sign that a writer cares about doing well. If this anxiety motivates the writer to devote thought and effort to their writing, this stress-induced attitude and mindset can have a certain positive value.
The hardest part of being a writer (IMHO) is not coming up with ideas, or hitting your word count, or breathing life into your characters. It's trusting yourself. Believing in yourself. Being yourself, and being okay with that.
Having a high IQ won't make you a good writer. It may be a good advantage, but it is the fine balance between intelligence and learning that can give you the craft to form a good poem or pen a beautiful story. Writing is about the ability to express the thoughts, feelings, and ideas that are in your head.
The brain and writing
German researchers observed scans of writers writing their stories and found that a network of brain regions work in unison to create fiction stories (1). The brain activity of regular writers was similar to that of people skilled in complex actions such as musicians or athletes.
Studies of artists and writers collated in Scientific American confirm that artists and writers are up to 20 times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder (also called manic depressive illness) and 10 times more likely to suffer from depression.
writers are around eight times as likely to suffer from mental illness than those who don't pursue writing as a career, according to Kay Redfield Jamison, a psychology professor at Johns Hopkins who wrote Touched with Fire. Consider how this could impact you. …you may be more prone to depression and anxiety.
Writer's fatigue and writer's block are similar concepts. Whereas blocks can happen at any point in the writing process, even before you've begun, fatigue normally occurs after extended periods of writing. The condition is frustrating, emotionally draining, and affects confidence.
Many writers classify themselves as introverted because they are part of a select group of people who can create new worlds in their head, work in isolation for hours on end, and persevere to get every word just right all at the same time.
Rates of mood disorder are extremely high in the writers; 80% had some type of mood disorder, and 30% had either bipolar I or bipolar II disorder.
Writers suffering from impostor syndrome inherently believe that they're not actually good at writing at all, even when there's evidence that says otherwise. To overcome this, you need to accept what others are saying about you; you need to believe the positive comments as much as they do.
Someone driven to worry or anxiety through thinking. worrier. worrywart. neurotic. fussbudget.
When you can't stop analyzing a situation over and over in your mind, it could be indicative of an anxiety disorder that you aren't aware of, Dr. Van Niel says. These conditions are common, affecting nearly 30 percent of adults at some point in their lives, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, self-compassion, and asking for help from a healthcare professional can help alleviate the stress of overthinking.