All resources that we need are in the mindTheodore Roosevelt
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You start searching through all the resources and make a mess, that is what overthinking is. In this video, we are going to talk about overthinking.
A basic human mind is made for thinking and processing things but what would happen if you start thinking about anything and everything indefinitely? That is what overthinking is.
For example, you were given a math question in an exam and you start thinking about its solution. In normal circumstances, people will try to understand the question, try to remember the solution, solve the question and move on.
But if you start overthinking it, you might start doubting your memory and think “maybe this is the wrong solution”, “maybe this is a trick question which I forgot to study and I must try a different approach”, or “what if I am writing the solution in a wrong order”, “how did they decide on this method of solving the problem?”, “the number 4 can be written using 3 or 4 lines, that’s absurd”, “should I change my handwriting?” this is a degree of overthinking.
Some people think that overthinking is helpful as it protects us from surprising situations everything was developed by humans to analyse every possible outcome of an event so that they could be prepared to survive it.
Some might even say overthinking is a sign of intelligence as only intelligent people can think of scenarios on that huge scale. Overthinking might sound cool, but it has its effects.
Overthinking is not just a phenomenon that you can feel in your heads it also can be seen as a series of symptoms some of which are:
- Difficulty in swallowing
- Dizziness in the head
- the feeling of having a dry mouth
- Increased heartbeat
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Inability to concentrate
- Irritability etc
These symptoms can easily disturb your daily life and may be harmful in the long run. These symptoms or effects may seem normal, but a person suffering physically and mentally must face a very difficult time dealing with them.
As most physical illnesses can be treated similarly mental illnesses can be treated too. Overthinking is caused when you cannot stop thinking so here are some tips on how you can control the process of overthinking.
Some people might think, “hey, thinking about every possible scenario that must be advantageous as you will be prepared for everything” or some might wonder, ” hmm, overthinking about everything that must make the brain so disturbed”. The opinions might be wary so let me/us tell you about a few advantages and disadvantages of overthinking.
It delays the decision-making process. This can be a pro as well as a con as many people tend to be impulsive so they tend to make rash decisions. These rash decisions might not be always well-thought and cannot be the best solution to a problem Overthinking process helps them but for some people overthinking can make taking decisions difficult resulting in stress.
It creates uncertainty and doubt. does it ever happen to you if you stare at a word for too long, you start questioning yourself if it’s the right spelling or not, this is what overthinking does to you. It is said that overthinking gives rise to doubts in the mind and makes you feel uneasy.
Overthinking can be beneficial too for some people as it raises curiosity and people tend to research more on a topic they feel uncertain about. This can be slightly helpful for students as they will start questioning everything and learn new information every day.
Whether we like it or not over-thinking will be part of human nature so according to most popular internet philosophy, we should let go of things which we cannot control but lucky for us as we can control overthinking.
Some ways by which we can control over thinking are:
1. Distracting Yourself
You might be spiralling about something and suddenly your head starts aching and the vision gets blurry, that looks like the doings of overthinking. Distracting yourself from that problem or thought might help.
Go out for a walk or count backwards from 20 and prove that thought will be gone.
2. Plan and Take Action
Life is full of endless possibilities and no matter what you do you cannot exactly do the same thing every time, so in this sea of possibilities i/we suggest that you make a plan of the things that you need to do so that you are not left in the arms of overthinking.
3. Question your Thoughts
Try questioning whatever you are feeling while overthinking. You can ask yourself simple grounding questions like “why do I feel this way?”, “What is the natural solution to this problem” etc.
4. Try Meditation
Meditation is proven to be sile a nap for your mind. It refreshes the mind and helps in thinking clearly. Meditation doesn’t have to be complex you can easily start with simple 5-minute meditations or guided meditation available online.
Don’t worry if you don’t get it right on the first try, meditation is a habit you can do it.
5. Understand your Triggers
You might be living your day normally and suddenly you see an ambulance and there! The overthinking starts with covid, your loved ones, diseases, hospital bills etc. my friend is called a trigger. Try to acknowledge these triggers and see what triggers you the most for overthinking and try to avoid them in near future.
6. Conculsion
Overthinking was developed by our minds for survival. It might not be the most useful in the present time but there are ways to manage it and use it in favour of you. So go ahead and enjoy your life with or without overthinking.
