Week 12: Kristine Dang - The Power of Overthinking
Overthinking is something many people do on a daily basis, but what are the negative effects of it physically and mentally? Because overthinking focuses on negative thoughts and the worst possible scenarios such as “rehashing the past, dwelling on bad experiences or worrying about the future,” it may cause depression or have more detrimental effects. In an article from Kera News, while focusing on the topic of mental health, a psychologist from Parkland Memorial Hospital, says “when we ruminate on certain thoughts, it can snowball into bigger, more extreme negative thinking.”
As the negative thoughts get more common and more severe, it can begin to affect one’s everyday life and physical well being. Causing sleep deprivation, eating disorders, headaches and many other symptoms, overthinking can “impact your daily functioning” or cause you to “isolate from other people” as a means of “self-defense.”
Some of the solutions provided by the article is to be mindful of what causes overthinking and find solutions to overcome them. Something that I have adapted to prevent myself from overthinking is to remind myself saying “it is what it is.” It may sound like a funny or questionable term, but it has helped me realize that the results of my future are inevitable and most of the time, thinking the worst will not change or affect what happens, making overthinking a waste of time. It is extremely difficult to prevent overthinking but hopefully trying to accomplish things one day at a time rather than thinking about how things will be in the next year or two will put your mind more at ease.
Hey Kristine! If overthinking has any physical bad effects I’m pretty sure I am in great danger! It is no surprise that rehashing the same negative event over and over has negative effects on you, and I can see how that leads to the rabbit hole that we call negative thinking. The vicious cycle that you highlight here is probably one that many people here have a lot of experience with. Your method of “it is what it is” is also what I tend to use since my father told me once that if I’m worrying about something I can’t change I might as well give up on any endeavor since there’s no way to control every variable, and I’ve found it to be advice to live by.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine! You highlight a very understated issue, overthinking. I actually just caught myself overthinking just before writing this blog post. I just equated getting a bad grade on my math test to not getting into a good college and working for minimum wage for the rest of my life. I’ve been basically depressed the entire day and this has definitely affected my mental well-being. Bringing a positive outlook to daily issues is really important and vital to nurturing our mental health, another underrated issue. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine! Overthinking is a very serious problem for me, as I'll often find myself overthinking everything from significant decisions I regret to something I said in a conversation. It often takes times like this to acknowledge that we actually are overthinking, since its really easy to fall into a habit without even realizing it. I have also learned to think "it is what it is" whenever I feel disappointed or regretful about something, and continuing to think this way has actually helped me stress less about smaller things. While easier said than done, we can't keep worrying about things that have already passed or aren't in our control. It also helps in the context of social situations to remind yourself that it really doesn't matter, as people are likely to forget things that we tend to agonize over.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine, the effects of overthinking is one that I do not want to experience ever again. I remember times when I would lay in my bed at dark, just about to fall asleep, when out of nowhere I recall some random dumb mistake I did all the way back in sixth grade. Then it is almost as if my brain went into full overthinking mode, and I am wide awake as I comprehend the amount of embarrassment my sixth-grade self must have felt. This would create a chain reaction, as I soon begin remembering all the other dumb stuff my young past has made, consequently eliminating any chance of good sleep. However, over the years, I began to develop the ultimate answer to this problem of overthinking. I began questioning myself to try to remember the dumb mistakes of a single other person, and I realized that I was not able to recall a single event. This made me realize that while the event may have been embarrassing, not a single other person remembers what happened to you, except for yourself. When I figured this out, I realized there really is no point in worrying about these past mistakes, as it only leaves myself in torment. Hopefully this idea is able to help you also with this dreadful chain of overthinking.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine! I am a big overthinker and I have realized that this negative habit has prevented me from so many possibilities in life. I would be scared to try new things because my mind will be filled with thoughts that wonder “what if I am not good enough” and “What people make fun of me.” These “What if” thoughts would crowd my mind and I will become absolutely terrified of trying anything. I really liked the advice you provided keeping in mind that “it is what it is.” I think this mentality can really help ground my thoughts and keep me in the “what is” instead of the “what if” state of mind. Another trick I use is to think about the worst-case scenario, which usually is not too bad, and then find a way to target that situation. Once I got the worst case under control, things do not seem so bad anymore.
ReplyDeleteKristine, this blog post was definitely a relatable experience for me. Overthinking has caused me to avoid many things in my life. Thinking over and over about one event and picking out every negative detail about it can be very unhealthy, mentally; even though I know that I still do it to myself. Almost every time for things I overthink, the actual event is never as bad as I make it out to be. So, usually for events I overthink, I try to tell myself that I am over analyzing the situation and making such a small, simple event much more complicated and bigger than it actually is. Hopefully, I will be able to not overthink things which will allow me to experience many more memorable events in my life.
ReplyDeleteI am a chronic over-thinker and although I’ve gotten better at interrupting those thought patterns, they’re still there. It is definitely a by-product of the way I grew up and learned to constantly read peoples’ emotions, the new thing I’ve been trying is to just play oblivious. If someone says something in a passive aggressive tone, I take the surface level impression. I’ve heard the phrase “make them say what they mean” and I’ve been trying to keep that up. It is definitely something I have to work on and work with but I have a lot of tools that work. Another one is when spiraling to the worst case “what if; then what” as in, what is the absolute worst that could happen? Ok, assume that happens, then what? What next? And when I’m able to acknowledge that even if the worst happens, I can handle it, the worst case scenario doesn’t seem all that bad anymore.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristene, overthinking is something so many of us fall victim to everyday, and I agree that it really is harmful to us. I often turn something small into something that seems so daunting and scary, and I scare myself because of all the ways it could go wrong. I get anxious and it is hard for me to overcome. Although I know that overthinking is harmful to me, I still can't help but do it as I think it is a natural reaction. I hope that I am able to be more easygoing and just take on whatever life throws at me without overthinking all of it.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine, overthinking is something that I do way too often and it can be really frustrating, but I always find it hard to not overthink. I think my problem with overthinking is that while it can have its cons like wasting a lot of my time and energy, there are also times when the results come out really well. For example, when I overthink on how I should design a project and the end product turns out to be really nice, then I get convinced again that overthinking is a good thing. However, the mental and physical strain it can have on me is too significant to ignore, so I will try to keep reminding myself not to overthink. Thank you for sharing!
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