Overthinking: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

 

 

                            **What is Overthinking?**

Overthinking is a mental process where there is excessive focus on a thought, repeating it without reaching a solution. It is one of the main causes of psychological stress and anxiety, leading individuals to constantly re-evaluate decisions, making it difficult to make decisions and move past events and problems.

 :  Overthinking can be divided into two main type

1

. **Rumination**: This is the constant thinking about negative situations, mistakes, and bad events that a person experiences.

   2

. **Future Anxiety**: This involves anxiety related to the future and imagining scenarios of events that have not yet happened.

**Symptoms of Overthinking: How Do You Know You Are Overthinking?**

Overthinking can manifest through various physical and psychological symptoms, including

- **Insomnia**: People who overthink often have severe difficulty sleeping, especially at night.

- **Anxiety and Tension**: Excessive thinking causes tension and fear about what has happened and what may happen.

- **Mental Fatigue and Difficulty Concentrating**: Those who overthink experience mental fatigue and difficulty concentrating due to continuous mental confusion.

These psychological symptoms can lead to physical symptoms, such as fatigue resulting from continuous thinking, which can cause physical health problems like headaches, digestive problems, and muscle pain.

**What Drives You to Overthink?**

- **Stress and Anxiety**: This often results from living in an uncomfortable family environment.

- **Strict Upbringing**: Children who were raised under strict conditions often suffer from overthinking.

- **Past Negative Experiences**

- **Bullying**: People who have suffered from bullying may overthink due to fear of a repeated situation. 

**How to Treat Overthinking: Here are some effective methods to treat overthinking:**

1

. **Meditation**: Meditation exercises can help calm the mind and reduce excessive thinking.

2

. **Exercise**: Deep physical activities like yoga help clear the mind, relax the body, relieve anxiety, and stimulate the release of happiness hormones.

3

. **Setting Time for Thinking**: Allocating a specific time to think about stressful matters can be an effective way to control overthinking.

4

. **Writing**: Writing can help get rid of excessive thinking.

5

. **Talking to a Trusted Person**: Talking to someone wise and understanding can help eliminate negative thoughts.

6

. **Psychotherapy**: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective therapeutic approach for dealing with overthinking. This type of therapy helps individuals change their thinking patterns and develop strategies to handle thoughts and situations.

---hope all the good things for all of you

Zineb.D