We all have habits of thinking; some think more or some less. Every day, every moment we have to make some decisions about something, and that requires thinking; in some serious moment, it requires even deeper thinking. That’s alright but some people keep thinking the whole day if something bad happened to them, going over the same topic again & again, making negative assumptions instead of moving on and taking action, this is overthinking.
Let’s understand the difference between thinking & overthinking, as well as how much thinking is good and how much is bad.
Thinking: We all think and that’s human nature. Every day, every moment we encounter some new problems in life and to deal with them requires proper thinking. The problems could be anything, such as life, career, relationships, and others. We can’t just think once about a certain problem and everything will be sorted out, problems are endless and we have to face it until we are alive so finding solutions with careful thinking is required throughout our lifetime.
The point here is if you are generally thinking about something, doing some logical analysis, brainstorming to find solutions to problems, and not focusing on negatives then this is good thinking.
Overthinking: If someone thinks too much about something that has happened to them, constantly worrying & thinking negatives, unable to get out of such thoughts, and making assumptions, this is overthinking.
For e.g., if someone has said something bad to you or you have experienced some bad incidents recently, or have got some health issues and you are focusing too much on them, dwelling on the negatives instead of looking for a solution then it’s a sign of anxiety & overthinking. We should address the issue, find a solution, and move on as good or bad things will keep happening to us throughout our lifetime. Enjoy the good time and have patience during the bad phase; focus on finding solutions to the problems and move on.