It’s natural to think things through, and in some situations, it’s even necessary. However, sometimes it can veer into the pattern of overthinking.

It might appear that you’re focusing on certain situations and scenarios and replaying them in your head, making it difficult to think of anything else. You might also interpret an interaction too broadly or assume the worst.

Overthinking might not hurt, but if it becomes a habit, it could be detrimental to your well-being.

Psychologist Rebecca Ore tells us how overthinking can manifest and how to deal with it.

Here are three symptoms of overthinking:

• Every time you think about the same facts, you don’t take any steps forward.
• It appears you haven’t found the ‘solution’ yet, and maybe if you thought about it just a little bit more you would find it.
• Clearly, nothing else is coming to mind. Your brain is being consumed by one thing and keeping you from being present in your daily life.

“When our brains identify something as a problem, they act like dogs with bones. We chase our tails, we go round and round in circles, we replay or rethink facts, and we look for the magic ‘fix’ or certainty,” says Ore.

“Overthinking occurs when we say something is a problem that is to be solved but has no definite fix, or when we reject the solution we find. We fear negative emotions almost always, either now or in the future (either now or in the future).”

According to Ore, overthinking can be a result of the brain not being satisfied with the answers it finds to situations it creates mentally.

“So it just keeps going around in circles,” she says. “Repeating the same sentences over and over again – creating anxiety, uncertainty, suffering – in search of the only answer that will ensure they never have to feel unwanted emotions again.”

Sometimes, overthinking is a result of worrying about what others think. According to Kanika Tandon, a life coach, we have an innate need to belong – and it is this that creates worry.
Caring about others’ opinions is helpful when working together, but can lead to problems when we start putting others above ourselves. A line is crossed when we begin to determine our actions in accordance with how others will view them instead of what we truly, sincerely desire.

When making a mistake or saying what we think, it can be helpful to consider whether we would really be judged or if our fear of judgement is self-imposed. Consider whether those people deserve to be held in such high regard if the judgement is true.

How can you avoid overthinking?

Observe your brain non-judgementally and learn to fully process your emotions, explains Ore as the best way to stop overthinking.

Try these tips:

1. Write your thoughts down
   Being an observer of your brain requires distancing yourself from the sentences in your mind. Observe what your brain is telling you, and jot them down on paper, advises Ore.
2. Observe what is going on.
   Consider what is happening in your brain as if you were a non-judgmental witness. “What exactly do you fear? To give an example: “My brain wants to protect me from feeling [this emotion], so it’s obsessing over this situation in order to feel safe.”
3. Learn to stop resisting your negative emotions
   It’s taught that negative emotions are bad and should be avoided at all costs, so our brain interprets them as problems that need to be resolved, she says. “There can be no escape from human experience.”. Negative emotions cannot be cured.

Identify the emotion you are avoiding feeling or the emotion you fear experiencing in the future.

Are you ashamed? Sad? Anxious? Rejected? Take a moment to feel these emotions. How do they make you feel?

Where can you experience them? How do they feel? Can you allow them a moment in your body? If you let it be there without resisting it, what would happen?

The author continues: “When we allow negative emotions to rise, peak, and dissipate without resisting them, they tend to do so much more quickly. It turns out they’re not as terrifying as we thought.”