However, since you aren't finding solutions from overthinking, all of this mental energy is going to waste. But feeling constantly exhausted, even as you wake up in the morning is a sign that you have been overthinking. You are always exhausted: Exhaustion from work is natural. However, the "mental rut" caused by overthinking, overrides our creative thoughts. which discovered that certain parts of your brain and cognitive processes are quiet, you’re more creative. However, overthinking often exerts the brain so much that, it is too tired to think "out of the box." This was proven by a study conducted in the U.K. You become less creative: Creativity stems from certain parts of your brain that are responsible for the cognition of problems at hand. “Your gut feeling or instinct gets overridden because you have so much other input … and you maybe end up not making the choices that are right for you in that moment,” said Laura Price, an assistant professor at NYU Langone Health. Additionally, you become really apprehensive about trying new things. “You could get stuck in potential consequences that may not even happen, just worrying about certain outcomes, and that can paralyze us or freeze us from taking an action,” said Rajita Sinha, the director of the Yale Stress Center. But when overthinking becomes a habit, there are just so many situations and scenarios that we build up in our heads, that it becomes excessively difficult to choose one. You become indecisive: When thinking, we often come up with some ideas to solve the problems at hand. Similarly overthinking also causes similar effects on you. Like depression-induced bowel issues, or pains in the body. In an earlier article, we had spoken about how mental illnesses and issues create manifestations on the body. But did you know that overthinking has effects on our body too? It exhausts our mind, creates fixations and also amplifies our problems. It is understood that overthinking is bad for our mental health. Especially overthinking, because it is often not solution-oriented thinking but rather a loop of thoughts that wander without a direction. But, what we fail to realise is that problems do not go away, or needs are not met by thinking. Especially, because our mind needs things to think about. So in our mind, we begin giving it as much attention as possible. It could be because of an issue that is bothering us, or a need that we are unable to fulfil. However, all of these responses (including overthinking) stem from an underlying problem, which we often overlook. Overthinking is a habit much like biting nails or shaking a leg. David Spiegel aptly puts it as, “There are times when the worry about the problem is a lot worse than the problem itself.” However, it is often that the problem isn't as big as the process of overthinking makes it. This shows, that people from the younger age group are more likely to obsessive over a thought than the older population. Surprisingly the numbers were lower at 52 per cent for people within the age of 45 - 55 years. But even without that, overthinking is now almost an epidemic.Ī study conducted at the University of Michigan revealed that 73 per cent of adults between the ages of 25 and 35 overthink. Many of the pandemic induced mental health issues can be traced back to an almost non-existing social life. However, being locked inside the house isn't as bad as having no social life at all. The concept of obsessively thinking has been on the rise especially during the pandemic, as people are locked inside their houses. Additionally, when we are so bogged by thoughts, it often makes us pull away from friends and family, which only leads to more negative thoughts. Because it's just you with your thoughts, right? But when the thoughts become depressing, we move on to self-doubt which can be extremely lethal. Overthinking on the outside might seem extremely harmless. You may start thinking about what someone said to you, and within no time you might find yourself wondering, where your life is going? Even if it starts on a positive note, thoughts have the tendency to quickly change course. We are all familiar with the nagging thoughts that just won't let us sleep. Let's face it! Overthinking is very common.
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