Topics of Extreme High Importance deserve long posts. This will be worth your time.

I’ve seen someone very close to me overthink most of the undesirable situations and go into the deepest end of Depression. I’ve seen people close to me get affected by what they built up in their head, it chipped away at their self-confidence and their sense of self-worth, building up to the constant feeling that they weren’t good enough for someone or something.
I want to help them and many others like them, who maybe have spoken up about this, or are too afraid to open up. It kills me that they have to go through this.
I am sure, this will help all of us.

Us Humans, We are a greedy species. Everything that we have, everything that we do, it will never be enough for us. This applies to everything from our unwillingness to share food to our simple thought process. We don’t seem to like the idea of giving something up. Sometimes holding on to something hurts more than letting go.

Learning to let things go is a skill that everyone should master, because that, one day, will be the drastic change point in your life.

How do we manage to handle the tough things that come our way? Is it by luck that we try out a Solution to something, which may lead us to victory? No. It is because we think before we act.
(Not everyone does it, but we should. #SadSideOfHumanity)

We tend to over analyze things, we tend to over think every uncomfortable situation. Why? Maybe because it gives the false sense of power that we are ready for all the possible outcomes. That’s one of the many reasons why people overthink all situations. The most common reasons, in my opinion, are the race to (Ludicrous) Perfection, and the Longing for Closure.

Everything doesn’t have to be perfect.

Be happy in what you are, who you are. That is what makes you unique. We see something. We feel that’s the ideal thing to have. We feel that’s the ideal way one should behave. We race to achieve the often concocted and delusive Perfection. What appears may not always be the truth. You don’t know the entire story behind it. And in doing so, in trying to achieve the Ludicrous Perfection, you may end up losing some of the most worthwhile things in your life. The thing to remember is that It is okay and is often healthier to accept that you can’t achieve everything, instead of beating yourself up every time things don’t go your way. In order to stop overthinking it might be good for you that you accept that being perfect isn’t always possible. 

You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometimes well you might find; You get what you need.

Overthinking anything is never healthy. For anyone.

But this does not mean that we should not analyze the things we plan to do. Analyze, but don’t Overanalyze. If you do over analyze, you will get even more baffled by the situation than you already were. It is perfectly alright and is strongly recommended that you analyze the task at hand before you jump in with both feet. But avoid over analyzing and over thinking what you should do.

Growing up, each and every one of us have heard this saying, Most of us have written essays on this saying, and Many of us chose this saying at least once for an extempore speech competition,

Empty Mind is a Devil’s Workshop

We all said that keep your mind busy and you will cast the devil out. But what if someone has an overactive mind? What if you have an overactive mind and you can’t stop the flow of random thoughts? Our mind rambles on, thinking random thoughts to no end. An overactive mind doesn’t always get you a positive outcome. You can do great things when you have an active mind, an analytical mind. At the same time, the same mind in panic mode can be the tool to your downfall.

What happens when someone overthinks?

When dealing with seemingly complicated, sticky situations, we tend to forget our standard thinking M.O and start grasping at straws. Our mind goes awry, we start over thinking and before you know it, dark and Negative Thoughts start to creep in. These negatives thoughts can often overshadow the actual solution that was possible. This leads to the feeling of being helpless. We tend to focus on these negative thoughts, these highly unlikely negative outcomes of the situation at hand, and before we know it, Depression sets in and we give up fighting to solve the problem. The problem starts to seem much bigger than it actually is.

If you start to feel that you’re overthinking such a situation, if you feel your mind wander on to random unrelated things, take a step back.

• Take a step back from the steadily growing overwhelming feeling. Take a step back from handling the situation.
• If you can feel yourself drifting from the situation at hand, remind yourself what is the actual benefit of handling this situation.
• Whatever solution that you can come up with, Check if it is pragmatic. Check if the situation demands such a complex solution. If you are an over thinker, chances are that it is much more intricate than it needs to be.
• Have someone close to you, who is your rock, volley your ideas back and forth. They can help you identify potential solutions that you may have already unearthed, but lost in the onslaught of random thoughts.
• Document those possible solutions, write them down, use a whiteboard, scribble them down your notebook or sticky notes.
• Another effective way is keep yourself busy. Accomplish many things all day, and at the end of the day, before sleeping, just think about what you did that day, think about all the small victories you achieved today, think that whatever that I did today, I am proud of what I have accomplished. This will help you increase your self confidence and pride (In a healthy context).

The most important point to consider so as to avoid overthinking is to stop projecting the worst of what could happen. Stop assuming that the worst is going to happen. Don’t focus on the worst. Ask yourself, what would happen if the worst DOES NOT happen? While handling negative thoughts, don’t focus on “what if it does” instead focus on “what if it doesn’t”.

And Always remember, In most of the cases, the Best Solution is the simplest solution. It might not be the easiest, but it is the simplest.

Be Positive about yourself and the situation. Have faith in yourself. Reach out to whoever that you feel comfortable with. And for sure you will make it out of the dark place unscathed.

Forming positive habits and reinforcing them over time will make a big difference in your propensity to overthink, and these steps are some ways in which you can start sculpting the new you.

Let me know how it works out for you!

Share this all you can, spread the word. Let this reach someone who might benefit from this. Let us help the world be a better place.