Overthinking Anxiety Will Make You Do These 8 Things (And You Won’t Even Realize)

Some people find the simplest things hard like ordering lunch or sending a short email to a coworker. Being overwhelmed by small tasks is due to overthinking tendency and anxiety. This makes people think everything is a high-pressure situation where a wrong decision could be made.

Such a tendency impacts life negatively causing many people to constantly seek reassurance in their decisions. Overthinking symptoms such as misery, anger, or anxiety cloud your judgment, preventing any positive action.

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8 Things Your Overthinking Anxiety is Making You Do

1. Overplanning

Planning goes into everything you do or every decision you make, giving you more control no matter the outcome. You may already have a Plan B in mind if things start to go badly. You are also likely to pack everything for a short trip just in case you need it. 

2. You Find it difficult to let things go

You attach easily to things important to you. Since there is much investment of energy and time, letting things go when things do not work out becomes hard. It is common to ruminate about it even after letting it go, at least in the mind. Thinking eats away at the thoughts.

3. You want to get everything right

A perfectionist has pride in his or her achievement and strives to give their best in everything. When things do not go as expected, overthinkers become their harshest critics. It is both a strength and a weakness; one must cut himself or herself some slack and realize that not everything can be perfect. 

4. You have trouble making a decision

Such people are indecisive and spend a lot of time contemplating making a decision. It is never easy for them to simply decide because the brain is processing more than 30 possibilities simultaneously. When the time comes for choosing quickly, they feel uncomfortable and they spend time mulling over things that could have occurred instead of the happiness they should feel. They make decisions only after serious thinking.

Additional Read:

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5. You ask for reassurance

Over-explaining things and seeking reassurance constantly on things that do not matter to a regular person is a sign of overthinking. This involves giving unnecessary details to explain things better. The mind tells different stories by the minute. People tend to push them away as they cannot understand this constant requirement for reassurance. This makes the situation worse for the overthinkers.

6. You think more than you do

Analysis paralysis means thinking too much and not doing anything in the end. Overthinkers weigh their options to decide the perfect outcome and this cycle keeps them from taking action. The best way out of this habit is to challenge your thoughts and examine the truth.  While thinking is important, acting is too.

7. You analyze people

This includes personal analysis and analysis of the actions of people. Watching others is enjoyable since there is an inherent need to figure them out, so public places are both overwhelming and fascinating. When someone walks by overthinkers notice their walk and even the songs they may be listening to.

8. You space out

You may get distant and stare into space, stutter when people ask something, or draw blanks. Zoning out is a symptom of overthinking, and it is used to imagine upcoming situations that could occur in a planned day. Zoning out gives the mind a chance to play out all possibilities, even the most unlikely of possible situations during the activities of the day.

Conclusion

Overthinkers cannot relax. It is as if the brain refuses to shut off so they cannot stop thinking about how things could be different if done another way. There is a link between overthinking and psychological issues like anxiety and depression.

The brain may convince you that ruminating and worrying is helpful somehow. Holding on to the past only prevents you from moving forward. Remember, these important things: Pursue progress over perfection. Give yourself grace when you did all you could. Let go. 

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