“What if I goof up? What if I am rejected? What if i'm not good enough?”

“I hate flying, I feel breathless, I am scared, what if something bad happens on the flight?”

“Things might go wrong. I know of instances where bad things have happened. And bad things usually happen to me.”

These are examples of irrational and unhelpful thoughts that you might have experienced. If you have similar, constant, repetitive thoughts that add to your frustration and anxiety, you might be overthinking.

Overthinking, also referred to as rumination, is like a never-ending loop of thoughts that keep us absorbed until a point of exhaustion. It can dampen our mood, strain our relationships, reduce our productivity, cause excessive worry and impact other personal and professional areas of life. Research shows that overthinking can harm our ability to make decisions because it impacts our confidence and increases our anxiety.

Overthinking is an automatic way of coping that happens when we are feeling overwhelmed, vulnerable or unable to control issues in our daily life, be it finances, health, work, or relationships. Psychologists describe overthinking as a way to try and control a situation by replaying the worst-case scenario in our minds. Even though we wish to find a potential solution, the problem is that one thought leads to another - eventually causing inaction. 

Studies show that 73% of 25- to 35-year-olds chronically overthink, along with 52% of people in the ages of 45 to 55. Safe to say, it is more common than we would like. 

We may realize that we tend to overthink, but how can we tell the difference between thinking and overthinking? Here are some signs of overthinking.

1.            Dwelling on the same conversation or incident over and over again.

2.            Constant thinking leading to disturbances in sleep, health, relationships, work etc.

3.            Going over different aspects of the decision repeatedly.

4.            Difficulty with actually taking action.

5.            Feeling highly stressed, anxious, or depressed.

We may feel tempted to engage in this loop of overthinking as it is familiar, comforting and has developed into a habit. However, with conscious practice, we can change it into healthy thought patterns. We can also gently remind ourselves that our ‘thoughts are not facts’ and need not always reflect reality.

Here are a few tips to halt overthinking and increase resilience:

1.            Try to break the pattern of overthinking by silently saying ‘stop’, visualising your worries float away in a balloon or fears drift away in a stream.

2.            Rather than always focusing on the worst-case scenario, attempt to construct helpful ones.

3.            Gradually begin to identify and reframe patterns of overthinking.  Therapy can help with this. 

If you feel like you need help to cope with overthinking and wish to talk about it, please reach out to a counsellor.