Table of Contents
Too Much Time Spent Thinking About Things
Here in this post, we are discussing and learning about “Too Much Time Spent Thinking About Things (Overthinking)”. You can read more about psychology-related material on our website. Keep visiting Psychology Roots.
Do you always worry and fret? Face difficulties even in the smallest of decisions? Is your self-criticism excessive? Find it difficult to concentrate or quickly distracted?
In our minds, we spend too much time. The fact that our brains continuously generate ideas isn’t always a problem—this is what our minds are designed for. It becomes an issue when we believe we have no control when our brains are like a runaway horses on which we can just barely grasp on.
Too Much Time Spent Thinking About Things
Anxiety is the driving force here. For some people, anxiety is accompanied by bodily symptoms such as racing heart and churning stomach, but for the majority of us, it’s more about the racing thoughts in our heads. Somatic symptoms may have a variety of consequences. The following are some of the most typical examples:
You’re always on edge.
When you’re continuously thinking about the “what ifs,” you’ve got generalized anxiety. Looking forward, around corners, and down rabbit holes of worst-case situations is what your brain does constantly. You’ve retained your hypervigilance, a coping mechanism you developed as a youngster but which you no longer use.
You have a hard time deciding what to do.
Anxiety distorts priorities and viewpoints, erasing them from memory. Choosing what to eat for lunch has the same weight as deciding whether or not to accept that job or have a kid, so it’s no surprise you’re continuously stressed up. The dread of making a “mistake”—ordering that sandwich, having it taste terrible, and then feeling guilty for the rest of the day—can be a powerful motivator. Or the driver may be causing others to be unhappy, which is a tough order for a smart judgment.
You have a high standard for yourself.
As you can see, your worried brain is trying its best to save the day. As a result, if you don’t want to be concerned about making errors or causing people distress, you must try harder to become more flawless. There is no wriggle space in this situation.
You are in charge.
What-ifs are kept at bay by strict management here. Nothing to be concerned about since you usually do the same thing on Tuesdays, you know what to expect. Whenever someone close to you does something that threatens to derail your plans, your first instinct is to convince them to do what you believe they should do. Their issue is that they are subjected to undue pressure, bullying, or manipulation.
The path to freedom
Anxiety is a two-step process: first, become conscious, and second, go inside your gut.
Worrying
It’s time to reactivate your logical side. Instead of hanging on to the horse as it runs, you’re controlling it by tugging on its reins. Do this by focusing on the present: Is there an issue that has to be solved right now rather than imagining what may have happened in the future? If this is the case, take immediate steps to fix it. If this is the case, then the horse is being slowed down. Get some exercise, take deep breaths and chat to a friend to relax your mind.
Decisions
Step back and let your sensible brain to decide your priorities if your nervous brain tells you everything is essential. No, lunch is not on the same level as a career or a newborn child. Treat lunch as a trivial choice that requires just little effort. Use your gut responses as crucial information to fight the thoughts of concern and shoulds that you have in your brain.
Get your pizza now if you’ve been hankering for it. Take a step back and ask yourself whether you really appreciate your work. Is having a child something you’d want to do?
Perfectionistic
This is all about being able to accept your faults. In spite of your nervous brain’s warnings, you must refocus your efforts and learn that making “mistakes” does not spell doom for your career. However, you won’t learn this unless you put yourself through the ordeal. The only one who really cares about your imperfections is you.
Control
It’s at this point that you begin to grasp the concept of self and other control. This is a great achievement on your part. The next step is to reframe worry as the opposite of control. The next time you feel the urge for control, ask yourself: What are you concerned about? This seems to be an unreasonable dilemma. Act on your own free will if you’re sane. You may also test your limits by learning to relinquish control and allowing events to evolve naturally or by delegating decision-making to others. Your worry will wreak havoc on you in this area, but you’ll emerge on the other side and find out that it wasn’t exactly what you hoped for, but it was good enough.
The idea here is to become aware of illogical, anxiety-driven behaviors—control, fear of making mistakes—and to rewire your brain by listening to your intuition, surfing through your worry to finally become more flexible.
Summary
In our minds, we spend too much time. Somatic symptoms may have a variety of consequences. Anxiety distorts priorities and viewpoints, erasing them from memory. Choosing what to eat for lunch has the same weight as deciding whether or not to accept that job or have a kid. Anxiety is a two-step process: first, become conscious, and second, go inside your gut.
Instead of hanging on to the horse as it runs, you’re controlling it by tugging on its reins. Focus on the present rather than imagining what may have happened in the future. In spite of your nervous brain’s warnings, you must refocus your efforts and learn that making “mistakes” does not spell doom for your career. The idea here is to become aware of illogical, anxiety-driven behaviors and to rewire your brain by listening to your intuition.
Help Us Improve This Article
Have you discovered an inaccuracy? We put out great effort to give accurate and scientifically trustworthy information to our readers. Please notify us if you discover any typographical or grammatical errors.
Make a comment. We acknowledge and appreciate your efforts.
If you have any scale or any material related to psychology kindly share it with us at psychologyroots@gmail.com. We help others on behalf of you.
