What is overthinking?

In today's times full of excessive stimuli, it is often difficult to completely calm down and turn our attention inward. Our mind constantly reminds us of various events and things to do, even in moments of leisure. Persistent pondering and analyzing past events can hinder our rest and make us tired and feel worse. Let's find out what exactly overthinking is, what symptoms it gives and how to deal with it.

• How do we define overthinking?
• What are the symptoms of overthinking?
• What are the characteristics of overthinking?
• What can be the consequences of overthinking?
• What are the causes of overthinking?
• How to deal with overthinking?

How do we define overthinking?

Overthinking in the literal sense means excessive thinking about various things, including events that took place during a given day. This phenomenon is professionally usually referred to as ruminations or analysis paralysis. Overthinking is a way of coping with unpleasant emotions, such as anxiety, anger and sadness, by trying to re-analyze a situation and/or a decision made. People who observe a tendency to overthink in themselves find it very difficult to stop the automatically occurring flurry of thoughts in their heads about past events and/or those that may happen in the future. Such people constantly dwell on past events and other people's behavior that caused them distress, which usually makes them very tense, emotionally unstable and insecure.

What are the symptoms of overthinking?

Common symptoms of overthinking include restlessness, anxiety, insecurity, self-criticism, attention deficit disorder, decreased energy and difficulty sleeping. People struggling with overthinking are usually tired, tense and stressed. They have clear signs of emotional overload. In addition, these people often complain of insomnia, tension headaches, significant mood swings and lack of self-confidence. Chronic overthinking can lead to feelings of frustration and helplessness and the onset of symptoms of depressive and anxiety disorders. Overthinking intensifies especially late at night before bedtime, when we are alone and have no way to distract ourselves from the flurry of thoughts by focusing on other activities, such as work or talking to another person. Overthinking a situation in the evening can contribute to insomnia in some people.

What are the characteristics of overthinking?

Several characteristics of overthinking are listed. These include:

• Repetitiveness and automatism - this is the basis for overthinking an event. Although we have no control over the automatism of the thoughts, it is possible to identify them efficiently and influence one's emotions through awareness of them.
• Thinking about the past - overthinking primarily concerns past events over which we no longer have any influence.
• Lack of concrete results - constant thinking about past events usually does not help in making decisions and committing to specific actions to improve the situation. This means that our precious time is wasted on thinking about the past, which mainly causes a worsening of mood and lack of positive results.

What can be the consequences of overthinking?

Constant thinking about unpleasant events from the past negatively affects interpersonal relations and can promote social withdrawal. Overthinking causes increased irritability, lowered mood and can trigger or exacerbate depression. Overthinking the past can also contribute to the onset or exacerbation of anxiety disorders, which further impede daily activities. Overthinking impairs attention and productivity, so it usually causes difficulties in completing tasks and negatively affects relationships with co-workers and superiors. In addition, overthinking leads to a weakening of cognitive abilities used for decision-making. It is worth noting that overthinking is not considered a mental disorder, but it can lead to the onset or exacerbation of depression and anxiety disorders.

What are the causes of overthinking?

Overthinking is one of the coping mechanisms for dealing with difficult emotions. Ruminations happen to all of us. Sometimes we replay a recent argument with a partner in our heads, other times we worry about our health, and other times we dwell on a mistake we recently made at work. Our thoughts tend to be automatic, which means that ruminating becomes a habit that is difficult to fully control. The problem with overthinking only arises when someone abuses this way of dealing with emotions. Overthinking is often a habit that can be changed, but it takes a lot of work, time, but also patience and self-forbearance. Overthinking is a big problem especially for people with depression and anxiety disorders. It is pointed out that patients with depression and anxiety disorders do not have enough internal self-control resources to stop negative automatic thoughts. It is also said that people who complain of overthinking have difficulty in effectively distracting their attention from negative stimuli.

How to deal with overthinking?

There are many ways to alleviate overthinking. Here are some of them:

• Set a specific time frame that will allow you to make a decision more easily and quickly, and reduce overthinking.
• It's worth taking a break from constantly analyzing different situations. A great idea is to go for a walk, jog, bike ride, workout at the gym, do yoga, go for a mountain hike, read a book, listen to an audiobook, take a half-hour nap, talk to a trusted person or do some DIY.
• It's a good idea to focus on the present - thoughts should be directed to what's happening in the present moment, rather than toward the past or future. This will help increase the effectiveness of activities done in the here and now.
• Meditation/mindfulness - regular meditation/attentiveness training
  allows you to calm down and relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression. It has a positive effect on mental well-being. You should sit comfortably, straighten your spine, draw your shoulder blades together and stay in this position for at least a few minutes. It's a good idea to close your eyes, focus on your breath and bodily sensations and don't identify with thoughts, as they come and go. Often, after just a few meditation sessions, one can see an alleviation of overthinking symptoms.
• Psychotherapeutic help - overthinking is not genetically determined, and can be worked on with a specialist. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be effective in helping you gain control over the way you think. Working with a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist will help you learn to recognize and challenge automatic negative thoughts, and turn them into constructive and realistic thoughts.

Sources:

• Kaiser BN, Haroz EE, Kohrt BA, et al: "Thinking Too Much: A Systematic review of a common idiom of distress. Soc Sci Med. 2015 Dec;147:170-83.
• Matsumoto N, Mochizuki S.: Why do People Overthink? A Longitudinal Investigation of a Meta-Cognitive Model and Uncontrollability of Rumination. Behav Cogn Psychother. 2018 Jul;46(4):504-509.
• Ehring T.: Thinking too much: rumination and psychopathology. World Psychiatry. 2021 Oct;20(3):441-442.
• Flaherty A, Katz D, Chosak A, et al: Treatment of Overthinking: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Rumination and Obsession Spectrum. J Clin Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 6;83(4):21ct14543.
• Gebara MA, DiNapoli E, Hamm ME, et al: Illness narratives and preferences for treatment among older veterans living with treatment-resistant depression and insomnia. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2020 May;32(2):81-89.