You'll know exactly how it goes if you're an overthinker. A problem keeps popping up in your mind – for example, a health concern or a work dilemma – and you can't seem to get it out of your head as you desperately try to find some meaning or solution.
The thoughts go round and round, but unfortunately, solutions are rarely found.
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In my daily work as a metacognitive clinical psychologist, I come across many people who spend the majority of their waking hours scrutinizing their minds for answers or meaning, or attempting to make the right decision. Ironically, they come to a halt while attempting to figure out how to move forward in life.
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When we spend too much time analyzing our problems and dilemmas, we often find ourselves even more perplexed than before.
Furthermore, persistent overthinking can cause a variety of symptoms such as insomnia, difficulty concentrating, and loss of energy, which often leads to additional worries about one's symptoms, creating a vicious cycle of overthinking. This can eventually lead to chronic anxiety or depression in some people.
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When overthinking and the associated symptoms become unbearable, we usually look for ways to relax. Many common strategies appear to be reasonable or useful, but research shows that they can inadvertently cause more harm than good and often lead to even more overthinking. Some of them may be recognizable in your own behavior:
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Constantly on the lookout for threats: there's nothing wrong with this strategy if you feel in command, but it can quickly backfire. Consider the issue of health.
If you begin to scan yourself or those you care about excessively for signs of illness, this threat monitoring will only lead to a heightened sense of danger and increased health-related concerns.
Another example is constantly checking to see if people like you, trying to figure out what they think of you, which inadvertently causes you to become more distant, non-participatory, and worried, and thus unable to enjoy their company.
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Seeking answers and reassurance: It's natural to seek reassurance from those close to you, as well as answers about how to cope better. However, if you reach a point where you rely on these strategies to help you relax and reduce stress, worry not; you're on a shaky ledge. Some of my clients, for example, spend several hours per day Googling in the hopes of finding reassurance or, at the very least, an explanation for why they're feeling down. However, this strategy frequently leads to even more concerns because googling relatively common symptoms typically yields a wide range of search results, including diagnoses you hadn't even considered.
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Excessive planning: Of course, moderate levels of planning are acceptable. Keeping a calendar or making notes for yourself is perfectly healthy. Some people, on the other hand, plan their lives down to the smallest detail, which can be problematic. Excessive planning, in addition to being time-consuming, can have other negative consequences, such as exacerbating worries.
For example, when carefully planning, it's tempting to try to predict everything that could possibly go wrong and how to potentially handle such events if they occur, thereby starting a worrying process.
Others plan meticulously because they believe they will be unable to cope otherwise, which can lead to excessive anxiety when planning is not possible or unexpected events occur.
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Aside from these counterproductive strategies, your beliefs about thinking can also contribute to overthinking (the term "metacognitive" in "metacognitive therapy" – the clinical approach I use – actually refers to thinking about thinking).
Many of my clients are convinced that they have no control over their thoughts when they begin metacognitive therapy.
They believe that their thoughts appear and attract attention on their own – and that they have no control over whether these thoughts develop into hour-long ruminations about how bad things are now, or into catastrophic worries about what might go wrong in the future.
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I have some good news for you: you don't have to live in constant fear.
There are Secret Methods that will help to;
All of these Secret Methods will help you slow down your brain and achieve perfect mental health
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