Since the dawn of time, humans have always thought. Are you thinking what they thought about? It does not really matter, does it? What matters is that you are thinking too. So far, there is no problem. However, there are so many reasons and things to worry about nowadays that, sometimes, we tend to overthink.
Has it ever happened to you that, after having a heartly conversation with someone, or after a very brief one with someone you like (your crush maybe?), you thought about how you could have phrased your sentences differently, how stupid some of your answers or reactions were, and/or how much you wished you could cease to exist right now and vanish from the face of earth simply because you made a fool of yourself in front of the person you like and they probably do not ever want to talk you again because….. . Easy there, you are overthinking it. To describe what overthinking is, just remember the example above or the definition below:
“Simply put, overthinking is thinking too much, for too long, and without any productive outcome.”
Now, as much as I would love to end things right here, this is not the whole story. Different people have, not only different thinking patterns, but also different views and values. So, the example above might or might not apply to someone. In my case, what happened above is exactly what will happen to me – you could even say it was me – with the exception of perhaps the crush part, since I do not have any, and I am also way too shy to even talk to her even if I had one. In your case however, it might be something else that you overthink. For example, obsession with cleanliness can result in overthinking that “is it clean now?”, “let me wash it a bit more.”, “I left spot here…”, etc.…. Or perhaps it is about checking your door five times before actually going just to make sure everything is fine.
Although there are many different reasons for overthinking, and there are also many different types of it as a result, the method to solve the problem, although not the only one, is: do not think about it. Easier said than done, right?! There are actually a number of things you can do to distracts yourself from overthinking (or thinking in general). First, try to think about something else. This can be done by either initiating another process which requires thinking or a thought completely irrelevant to your previous ones. Remember, avoid doing any recurring process: such processes, such as washing dishes, leave your mind vulnerable to thinking. Second, when you catch yourself red-handed, which is overthinking, try to force your thinking process toward what you want without changing the topic. If you are thinking about that not-so-pleasant conversation you had a while ago, instead of thinking about its unpleasant moments, think about how much fun you had while it lasted. You had fun, right?
In the end, to fix your problem by yourself, try to avoid doing anything unnecessary, especially one without productive outcome. As someone with this vice, I strongly suggest you experiment with different solutions. After all, every person has a unique thinking pattern, and he knows himself better than others for sure. Remember that life is too short to be wasted by overthinking about matters on which you do not have any control.
Written by: Alireza Saeidi
