I hear the phrase, “just relax” on repeat inside of my head about a hundred times a day. Well, if you are anyone like me you know what it feels like when you are overthinking something that a normal person would not even think twice about. I will never get those minutes back from my life where I spent time overthinking and worrying about something I have no control over.
“Was she being bitchy?”
“Was she complimenting me or being sarcastic?”
“Do they really want me to hang out with them?”
“Does she even like being my friend?”
Thoughts as little at this can ruin my day. Walking around being a constant worrier and second-guessing myself about everything seems to be a daily routine. It is something as small as figuring out if I want pizza or sushi for dinner to trying to decode something that someone said to me. My mind needs to know the meaning behind everything. The most frustrating part is being forced to accept that certain things do not have a larger explanation behind it.
I think I can say on behalf of all the other overthinkers out there that it is hard to let things go. We go over and over the details of things people have said to us to try and put together an answer that will satisfy us…that is until we come up with another scenario in our heads.
Overthinking cannot only make a person go crazy, but it makes you feel crazy. Why do our minds feel the need to go over and over something a million times but someone else wouldn’t spend the time of day on it? Why am I up at 2 a.m. thinking about a text someone sent me? Why do I worry until I give myself a stomachache? Why can’t I stop talking about something that happened a week ago?
It is hard not to overthink when you are constantly spinning through scenarios in your head of everything that could possibly go wrong. My negative thoughts running around my head all day long not only affect my mood, my attitude and my day, but it affects the people around me.
The moments that I do find my mind loosening up is rare. A lot of people look to exercise or yoga for an escape, but that does not always help. I find myself finding joy in investing myself in the little things… no matter how small it might be. Whether it is watching ”Friends” to bring me a good laugh, coloring, cooking a meal for my family or listening to music it helps calm down my mind.
To all of those overthinkers out there, we have to start standing up to that voice inside of our heads that is driving us crazy. Hours of thinking and endless nights awake won’t help us get anywhere. Yes, overthinking makes me feel like I am alone or nobody gets how I feel but once we learn to accept that things happen for a reason we will find ourselves being happier and living healthier lives. But, until we figure out a way to control our overthinking we should “stop being afraid of what can go wrong and start being positive about what can go right.”
