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Introduction of Crush Negative Thoughts

 

 

Overthinking is a silent crippler. It sneaks into your brain unnoticeably, and it latches and holds onto you for what feels like forever. So how does it even get in? Simply put, it starts because we worry about something. While that may be a gross oversimplification to some people, for this book, that will suffice as a general understanding of how it appears like you have become an overthinker seemingly overnight. 

In truth, overthinking is often—but not always—latched onto a deeper mental condition such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or substance use disorders; but, that is not always the case. The problem is that the correlation between overthinking and those other conditions become a chicken and egg scenario. It is not entirely clear which came first and started the other until you deep dive with licensed professionals (Morin, 2020). 

Just because overthinking is often linked to the above mental conditions does not mean that they always occur together; there are multiple other reasons that any of these conditions can occur, but it is good to mention them now, so that you can begin to create self-awareness. 

 

Understanding Overthinking 

The problem with overthinking is that because it is so prevalent in our lives, many people either dismiss their overthinking tendencies, or begin to develop an overthinking complex about overthinking. While this book is going to go more in-depth on how to identify your personal overthinking triggers and patterns, we are going to begin with a generalized understanding of overthinking and how it works. 

What is Overthinking

The definition of overthinking is as follows: “To think too much about (something): to put too much time into thinking about or analyzing (something) in a way that is more harmful than helpful” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Before going any further into understanding overthinking, there is something very important in the definition which must be pointed out: Overthinking becomes dangerous when we think to the point that our thoughts become more harmful than helpful. 

Another great way to look at it is to see that overthinking is very closely associated with worry or rumination; especially since those two actions can easily be justified as trying to do something beneficial or productive. For example, we explain to ourselves, friends, family members, and co-workers that we are worrying about someone’s health, or that we are preparing ourselves for the worst outcome (Acosta, 2022). In actuality, we are mentally preparing for every worst-case scenario, and are really making things worse for ourselves in the long run.

By giving ourselves the conscious belief that we are doing something positive or productive through worrying, or engaging in ruminating thoughts, we allow those types of thoughts and behaviors to continue. The problem is that allowing ourselves to continue thinking this way actually encourages our brain to persist in the ingrained subconscious negative thinking patterns those types of thoughts induce. 

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