Do you ever get lost in your thoughts? Thinking and worrying about the challenges we’re facing and the ones yet to come is normal.
But when the same thoughts cycle through over and over again, when your worries or memories are in such a constant loop that it’s like you’re stuck in your thoughts, you might be overthinking.
If that sounds familiar, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
Overthinking can make you feel like you’re drowning in your own thoughts. This near-constant feeling of drowning and overwhelm can have a huge impact on your mental health – especially when it is complicated by anxiety, depression, and ADHD.
As a neuropsychologist, I understand the impact overthinking can have and I’ve seen firsthand how it affects my clients with anxiety, depression, and ADHD. In this blog, we’ll explore how overthinking is connected to these mental health challenges and offer practical tips to manage it.
Let’s dive in!
What is Overthinking?
Imagine you have a huge exam coming up. It counts as a large portion of your grade, and you know you need to do well on it. But instead of studying, you spend hours worrying about failing. All of your past experiences with failure are playing on repeat in your mind. Now, you’re so anxious that you can’t even concentrate on what you’re trying to study. Then, on the day of the exam, you find yourself even more stressed and underprepared.
This is an example of what overthinking might look like.
Thinking about your life and your circumstances is normal – even prolonged thinking about challenges or situations you’re in is normal. Overthinking – also known as rumination – is when your thoughts are stuck in a repetitive, negative loop. It happens as your mind’s attempt to control a situation and figure out what to do next. However, the key that makes overthinking different from typical thinking is that it is always unproductive and can reach a point where it disrupts your life.
Although overthinking itself isn’t a mental health condition, it can be a symptom of other challenges. It’s often triggered by negative emotions which creates a cycle of stress leading to overthinking which then leads to even more stress. This can significantly increase the risk of developing or intensifying symptoms of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or ADHD.
Recognizing when you’re overthinking and taking steps to manage it is crucial for maintaining a healthy, balanced life.
6 Cognitive Distortions that Lead to Overthinking
Psychologists don’t typically break overthinking down into specific categories. However, symptoms of overthinking are usually caused by cognitive distortions. A cognitive distortion is faulty or inaccurate thinking, perceptions, or beliefs that can lead to stress, anxiety, or depression.
Recognizing the specific cognitive distortion your brain falls into when you overthink can help you manage your symptoms more effectively. Here are the five most common types of cognitive distortions that lead to overthinking:
- All-or-Nothing: This is when you see things in only black and white. If something isn’t perfect, then it’s a total failure. For example, if you get a B on a test instead of an A, you automatically think you’re a terrible student because you didn’t get a perfect grade. There’s no gray area in between these two options.
- Catastrophizing: This type involves imagining the worst-case scenario. You might turn a small issue into a huge disaster in your mind. For instance, if you make a mistake at work, you might worry that you’ll get fired and never find another job.
- Overgeneralizing: Overgeneralizing happens when you take one negative experience and apply it to all situations. If you had a bad date, you might think each new date you go on will also be bad regardless of if you’ve had a few good ones along the way. This makes it hard to see each situation as unique.
- Perfectionism: Perfectionism involves setting impossibly high standards for yourself. You believe you must do everything flawlessly, and any mistake is unacceptable. You obsess over small details you think are wrong and become overly critical of yourself. This can lead to constant stress and fear of failure.
- Jumping to Conclusions: This involves making assumptions without evidence. It can show up as mind reading or fortune telling. Mind reading is when you believe you know what others are thinking, often assuming they have negative thoughts about you. Fortune telling is when you predict negative outcomes without facts to support your prediction. Both forms can lead to unnecessary worry and stress.
Understanding these types can help you recognize when you’re overthinking and take steps to manage it.
Overthinking and Anxiety
Overthinking is a symptom of many mental health disorders – the most common of which is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Many times, those who suffer from anxiety describe themselves as chronic worriers. They are in a constant state of worrying and once one worry stops, another one immediately takes its place. By adding in overthinking, it becomes a vicious cycle.
When you experience both anxiety and overthinking it can be hard to tell where one starts and the other begins. Is your anxiety causing your overthinking or are you overthinking because you have anxiety? It can be hard to pull the two apart. However, if you are able to address one, you may be able to prevent or lessen the symptoms of the other.
Tips to Manage Overthinking with Anxiety:
- Practice grounding or other mindfulness techniques to stay present in the moment.
- Set a timer for your worrying. Allow yourself 10-15 minutes to worry about something then actively choose to move on.
- Challenge your negative self-talk and ask yourself is what you’re thinking really true?
Overthinking and Depression
Your thoughts play a significant role in influencing your feelings and emotions. When you overthink, you often dwell on negative thoughts and past mistakes which can trigger or worsen a depressive episode.
Overthinking can also become a drain on your energy and motivation. Because it can intensify feelings of sadness and low self-esteem, it leaves very little space for positive experiences and activities. You might find yourself isolating from family and friends because you’re too caught up in your own negative thoughts to join in social events or participate in hobbies that could lift your mood. This can lead to feeling too overwhelmed to take action, which in turn makes you feel even more depressed.
Tips to Break Through Overthinking and Depression:
- Start journaling to write down your thoughts and help clear your mind.
- Focus on achieving small goals to build confidence and motivation.
- Do something you love to help boost your mood and motivate you to move past the negativity.
- Celebrate your small wins and efforts and push back against the depressive voice.
Overthinking and ADHD
For people diagnosed with ADHD, they have the amazing ability to pay attention to a lot of things. This is the nothing goes unnoticed superpower! However, this superpower also means it is difficult to stay focused on one thing at a time. Thoughts and attention can leap from one thing to the next at a higher rate.
Overthinking can have a particularly challenging impact when paired with ADHD. One negative thought can quickly attract another and another until it feels like you’re being bombarded by negativity and problems all at once. When you’re stuck in this downward spiral of thoughts, it’s easy to feel like you’re failing or not measuring up all the time. This can erode your self-esteem and confidence until even the simplest task feels overwhelming.
Over time, the cycle of overthinking can lead to or worsen depression or anxiety. Recognizing the effect of overthinking and developing strategies to manage it can help individuals with ADHD improve their focus and reduce stress.
Tips to Manage Overthinking with ADHD:
- Follow a daily routine to reduce the chaos that often leads to overthinking.
- Practice deep breathing to calm your mind and improve focus.
- Use movement to get out of your head and into your body – think workout routines, hiking, or dance, something that requires focus and gets you moving.
When to Seek Professional Help
Everyone gets lost in their thoughts sometimes. Just as with any mental health challenge it can be hard to know when it’s time to seek professional help for overthinking.
To help you break it down, here are some things to look out for:
- It feels like your thoughts are overwhelming and out of control all the time.
- Your constant overthinking is preventing you from making decisions or taking action.
- You’ve missed events or deadlines because of overthinking.
- Your relationships are being affected by your constant worrying.
- You feel stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts and can’t break free.
Professional help is important – especially when it’s linked to things such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD. When you reach out to a mental health professional, they’ll be able to help you determine the root cause of your overthinking and teach you strategies to manage it more effectively.
Treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been proven to be highly effective for overthinkers. CBT is a type of psychological treatment based on identifying and managing the cognitive distortions in a person’s thinking. With it, your therapist or psychologist will help you develop the skills to challenge and alleviate your cycle of negative thoughts.
Overthinking is a common symptom of many mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, and ADHD. By learning to recognize the signs, you’ll be one step closer to understanding why you’re overthinking and take the first steps towards managing it.
As a neuropsychologist trained in CBT, I have seen how effective therapy can be in preventing and managing overthinking. Because the cycle of overthinking is unique in every individual, it’s so important to treat it with a highly personalized approach. By working together, we can develop customized strategies to help you regain control over your thoughts and your life.
Schedule a FREE consultation today to take a step towards a healthier and more balanced future.