Overthinking: we all do it a little bit. Whether it be about school, work, relationships, or something stupid we said to a waitress like, "you too," when she told us to enjoy our food. Overthinking seems to be of human nature, which, if you think about it, is super inconvenient. It can turn an okay situation into a crisis. I know this because it is something I do very often, often enough to where my parents and friends know exactly when I am thinking too much.
I am an impatient person, this makes overthinking for me a bit harder because I am expecting a situation to get resolved quickly when that isn't always the case. Sometimes it takes time for things to change or get better, and since there is time for me to think, I typically start thinking about ways to resolve the situation in a quicker fashion. In reality, I should be leaving these situations alone. If there is a problem, I want it to be solved as soon as possible so I don't have to deal with it very long. Having anxiety doesn't really help the overthinking, it just intensifies everything.
For example, recently I was given a lot of closure on a situation. That should've been it, I should have accepted the answers I was given and moved on. Instead of thinking positively about it, I tried to dig deeper which was unnecessary. All I could think about was this situation and the person involved. I tried to make up stories that I knew were very irrational. This caused a lot of problems for me. I wasn't sleeping, I skipped a few classes, and just laid in bed most of the day. The overthinking threw me into a rut for a solid 3 weeks. I just recently started coming out of it.
I think too much and it is a problem, it is a problem that I am not sure how to deal with. I know when I am overthinking, but I can't seem to stop myself from doing it. I always tell my friends that they need to "retrain" their brain if they are constantly having negative thoughts. That is probably something I need to do as well, I need to train my brain to not focus so much on one thing because there are other things going on.
Something I wish people would realize, though, is saying "don't worry so much" or "stop overthinking" doesn't cure me of my overthinking and anxiety. If anything, it just annoys me. People, like friends and family, need to be a bit more understanding of these things rather than making comments that almost make me feel like there is something wrong with me. I have been overthinking for most of my life, so small comments like that have been frequent.Telling a person they are dumb for overthinking is ridiculous, people need to quit doing that. So many people have done that to me in my lifetime, and it has made me trust people a lot less.
