10 Signs You Might Be Overthinking

Introduction

• Overthinking can lead to feelings of invalidation, frustration, and self-disappointment.
• Objective list to help identify overthinking behaviors.

Signs of Overthinking

1. Stressful Daydreams

• Healthy daydreams are uplifting and positive.
• Overthinkers imagine negative outcomes and scenarios, causing unnecessary stress.
• Worry about future failures before they happen.

2. Feeling Vulnerable

• Overthinking makes you feel stuck and not progressing.
• Brings insecurities to the surface, causing anger and helplessness.
• Overreaction to minor problems and defensiveness towards help.

3. Indecisiveness

• Inability to make firm decisions due to constant back-and-forth thinking.
• Feels like there's no right answer, leading to a sense of dead ends.

4. Difficulty Concentrating

• Rumination or overthinking clutters your brain, hampering focus.
• Study (2003, Jambo Merski et al) linked rumination with decreased concentration.
• Spending more time thinking than doing.

5. Constant Anxiety

• Strong link between overthinking and anxiety.
• Insecurity and doubt trigger anxious and unhelpful thoughts.
• Anxiety and rumination exacerbate each other (Nolan Huxma's book).

6. Persistent Bad Mood

• People who ruminate experience longer, intense periods of negativity (2000, Davis and Nolan).
• Overthinking worsens negative moods, creating a vicious cycle.

7. Avoidance of Enjoyable Activities

• Overthinking consumes attention, causing loss of interest in hobbies.
• Study (1993, Leon Bumarski and Nolan) found that overthinkers avoid their passions due to doubt and anxiety.

8. Reinterpreting Old Memories

• Revisiting past mistakes and missed opportunities is common.
• Study (2006, Star and Molds) linked ruminators with frequent replaying of past events, especially those with anxiety and depression.

9. Seeking Deeper Meaning

• Searching for a grand resolution to relieve anxiety is a sign of overthinking.
• Study (1993, Leon Bamarski and Nolan) found ruminators look for deeper meanings that might not exist.

10. Recurrent Overthinking

• Chronic overthinkers tend to ruminate repeatedly whenever faced with problems (2000, Davis and Nolan).
• Regular occurrence of overthinking can be a habit.

Coping Strategies

• Show support and care to someone who is overthinking.
• Offer a hug, a shoulder to cry on, and assure them things will get better.
• Encourage online counseling services like Betterhelp for professional support.