Understanding Overthinking

Overthinking

• Overthinking is when our thought processes are out of control, causing distress

Consequences of Overthinking

• Excessive mental activity is harmful, including analyzing, judging, monitoring, evaluating, controlling or worrying
• Overthinking amplifies itself, goes around in circles, and thoughts are intrusive

Indicators of Overthinking

• Constantly aware of thoughts
• Engage in meta-thought (thinking about your thoughts)
• Try hard to control thoughts
• Distressed by dislike of spontaneous thoughts
• Thinking is a struggle between competing impulses
• Frequently questioning, doubting, analyzing or judging
• Turns to thoughts as the source of problems in a crisis

More Indicators of Overthinking

• Being focused on understanding thoughts and digging into the mind's inner workings
• Trouble making decisions, doubting the choices made
• Worrying and concerning about many things
• Recognizing engagement in negative thought patterns
• Returning to a thought numerous times, even if it is in the past

Causes for Mental Clutter and Agony

• The reasons why a person overthinks can become a topic of obsession for overthinkers
• the causes of overthinking are seldom the focus of overthinking.
• All thoughts are the result of overthinking
• When trapped in rumination, thoughts seem like the problems and promise relaxation upon resolution, but this is misleading

Tackling Overthinking

• Taking a step back
• The book assumes overthinking is linked to anxiety
• Anxiety is viewed as the root cause
• Overthinking is the effect

Anxiety

• Anxiety results from a mix of different causes
• It is also often found with other disorders, both mental (like depression) and physical (like irritable bowel syndrome)
• Women also experience it more than men and that elements like diet, stressful lifestyles, past trauma and even culture have a part to play

Genetics and Anxiety

• No single cause for anxiety is identified with certainty
• A genetic component, like genes on chromosome 9, can be associated with the development of anxiety
• Anxiety disorders have a heritability rate of 26%
• Environmental factors and lifestyle account for the other 74%

More About Anxiety

• There are two ways to "inherit" anxiety from parents which include genetically and behaviorally
• Having a parent with an anxiety disorder increases the chance of having one
• Genes’ influence decreases as we age
• It is possible to manage anxiety through awareness of risk factors and predispositions

Other Sources of Anxiety

• Many become habitual overthinkers, thinking it mitigates problems
• Overthinking doesn’t lead anywhere, and one gets trapped analyzing, rejecting, and reconsidering different possibilities
• Anxiety works in clever and mischievous ways and it feeds on worst fears
• Specific triggers can exacerbate overthinking, like insecurities about capabilities relationships, or health

Daily Habits

• Daily habits can cause anxieties and result in overthinking
• Seemingly innocuous habits like checking social media often, not eating well, not drinking enough water, having awkward sleep cycles, etc., can exacerbate our tendency to overthink things
• Environment is also a big part of developing and sustaining anxiety
• Genetics + Stressful events = Overthinking

Stress

• Stress is in the environment like an external pressure
• Anxiety is an internal experience of that pressure
• Everyone responds differently to the same stressful environment
• Responses include emotions and physical symptoms

Stress Cont.

• Chronic stress on someone with a predisposition for overthinking can lead to burnout and overwhelm
• Factors like work, family, relationships, news, politics, climate change, and neighbors can contribute
• Researcher Kenneth Kendler found that depression and generalized anxiety are linked to traumatic life events
• Major predictors of mental disorders include trauma, abuse, or neglect in childhood
• Christine Heim noted that sexual abuse in childhood "sensitizes" women to stress in adulthood

Effects of Environment

• Immediate environments affect us and can impact our anxiety
• Clutter is a significant cause of anxiety as it subconsciously acts as a reflection of yourself
• Lighting, smells, noises, colors, and people in those spaces all cause anxiety

Mental Models

• Nature vs. Nurture debate resolved. It is both
• Experiencing anxiety comes down to genetics and external environment
• Willingness to examine, understand, and control the relationship is key
• Cognitive style, mental frames, and behavior determine anxiety experience
• It is not about the load, but how you carry it

Interpretation of Neutral Events

• Perceptions, perspectives, sense of self, and cognitive models go toward interpreting neutral events
• Response is to perception of stress, not stress itself
• Focus on empowerment to change outlook and manage anxiety/overthinking
• Beliefs also impact resistance to stress
• Daily habits, self-esteem, and boundaries are changeable