After erasing my first sentence five times, I finally just said, “go for it.” No matter how many times I start this article, I will never stop thinking of ways to make it better. This isn’t because this is piece is more important than others; it is because I am overthinking it. The same way I overthink every detail in my life. I know I am not the only one that thinks about everything, and I mean everything. This article isn’t for the over thinkers; this is for those of you that don’t understand what it is like to overthink. For those of you that don’t understand our random comments, why we worry, and how we view the world. It is very complex but it boils down to one simple concept, our minds won’t shut-up.
Analyzing is as natural as breathing to us. A simple sentence can have about twenty different meanings based on a person’s tone, inflection, and body language. This makes texting a nightmare! Without seeing someone you can interpret a text that says “Hi :)” about 6,893 different ways. This leads into my next point. Overthinking makes us overanalyze ourselves. After a good conversation, I will analyze it and try to see if I said anything that could across as rude or stupid. When meeting new people I sit there and wonder what to say to the point that once I have something relevant to say the topic has changed.
Being around people will drain us faster than the average person. Overthinkers need time to re-energize. One thing that goes hand-in-hand with thinking too much is the need to rest. Try doing three different workouts at once; that is what our brains are constantly doing. We don’t just think about one thing at a time. We somehow have the ability to hold a conversation while we analyze everything that has been said and somehow end up going off onto different tangents.
Our brains never stop, especially at night. Lying in bed and reliving your day and thinking how you could have, or should have, done something differently is a nightly occurrence. The only way to get any peace is to distract yourself, and that doesn’t always work. If you are friends with or are dating an overthinker remember to be there for them. Sometimes the best thing is to put on some Netflix, let them talk it out, or give them some space. Sometimes just simply being there is all we want to reassure us that we are doing a good job. Also, to the overthinker, just stop and take a break, you deserve it.