Three Ways to Use Your Overthinking Habit for Good

Overthinking is two habits looping on repeat: replaying the past and rehearsing the future. Interestingly, both stem from a nervous system that is unable to relax until it is reassured via certainty. As a result, the mind keeps analyzing long after the inciting incident has passed, turning the same experience over and over as if one more round of thinking might finally solve it.

Beneath this pattern of overthinking often lies a pervasive feeling of something left incomplete or unresolved. When a feeling is uncomfortable or unclear, looping in the faculty of cognition feels safer than actually sitting with the emotion. What begins as the instinct to protect oneself gradually turns into a maladaptive coping mechanism.

People who grow up in environments where mistakes come at a heavy cost or where uncertainty feels unsafe often learn to mentally brace for every possible outcome, good and bad. Over time, to avoid being blindsided, their minds can become perpetually hyper-vigilant, scanning for risks even when none exist. And this very strategy that keeps them safe as children turns into a rumination habit in adulthood.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Psychology Today.