How Overthinking Has Impacted My Life

"Overthinking is something that I have struggled with for my entire life. It started off at such a young age, where I didn't think much of anything. I thought that I was just stressed, overstimulated or bored. Now that I am older, I know that it's overthinking. With that being said, overthinking is something that everyone does deal with, but for me I have noticed that it has taken control of my life. From the day-to-day tasks, social interactions, casual conversations or most commonly when I am alone with my thoughts. When I am alone, I get struck with a wave of overthinking from what I am doing wrong with my life, how I look, comparing myself to others and just beating myself down.

I saw a quote that said, 'it's hard to describe what you are thinking inside of your head when you struggle to even understand it yourself'. This quote hit me in a way that I cannot even begin to describe to my closest friends or family. I am often burdened with the negative side effects of mental illness and overthinking. Everything that I have ever done wrong in my life replays on a movie theater screen inside my head 24/7. It is on a continuous loop with no signs of slowing down or stopping. Let me tell you guys, that can get mentally and emotionally draining. Some of the struggles that I have had due to my overthinking entails; never being confident with my decisions, never feeling like I fit in, social anxiety, insomnia, never having enough energy to get through the day, and feeling like I am not worth the love I know I deserve.

Overthinking is often used in a casual sense, but there is nothing casual about it. Some examples of overthinking thoughts; why did I say that, did I leave the curling iron on, should I go, should I stay, did I say the right thing there, should I go talk to that person, was that a stupid comment, you're not enough, you talk too much, you do not talk enough. The list goes on and on, but to sum overthinking up in a sentence, it's a curse. I truly believe that nobody understands the mind of an over thinker until you are one.

With that being said, there are some ways that I have learned to curve my bad habit. When I am getting to the point of overthinking, then I like to take some time to go somewhere alone and talk myself down. I take deep breaths and just talk out what I am feeling by myself. Remember that your thoughts cannot do any damage, and you have the power in that situation. You have the power to stop overthinking, to relax your mind, body and soul. My biggest advice is to give yourself some grace, but also remember you have the power to switch the off button. You have the power to do anything you set your mind to and make the situation better. Even if your mind is telling you that you can't, I promise you can. It will take a lot of time and effort, but putting time into yourself to get peace of mind is worth the work."

*Hello, fellow overthinkers! How are you all doing? I wanted to share this article because I know so many of us struggle with anxiety and intrusive thoughts and I want you all to know that you are not alone in the slightest. Overthinking can be a real monster, but it's important to remember that thoughts are just thoughts. They don't have any power over you. You are in control and you will get through the tough times because you are strong. It is important to take a walk and do something active to break that cycle of thoughts. It's not good to sit in bed and let the thoughts continue to cycle, even though that's what we all think we want to do. I know you all can work through this with time and dedication. Everything will be okay! How do you manage your intrusive thoughts and overthinking?*

#Overthinking #IntrusiveThoughts #Anxiety

Please find the full article at The Odyssey Online.