The side effects of overthinking on your lifestyle can be very damning and may feel very weighty just like a burden of sorts on your shoulders. This is why it is very dangerous to keep holding on to thoughts that are by health standards negative and burdensome on human peace.
The standards set at the negativities of thinking too much will definitely go a long way in rejuvenating the mind and by extension the overall survival of the concerned individual. Overthinking is the unfriendly process of repeatedly regurgitating or indulging unproductive thought in a very uncontrollable way.
There are however some reports about why overthinkers find this problem unsolvable even as they constantly make resolves to overcome it. The reason is because of their insatiable need to always attach meanings to every human act which they by chance witness. This auto-psychomotive curiosity does not stop to goad the overthinkers on, and this it does oftentimes to their gravest hurt and disappointment.
Overthinkers though are sometimes right when they make their guesses, they are mostly wrong when they do any of these unhealthy mental activities below:
- Overthinking the Past
- Overthinking the Present
- Overthinking the Future
Side Effects of Overthinking on your Lifestyle
The truth is that, there is no how you will immerse yourself in overthinking and not find you shrinking in some ways. This might at the end of the day affect your lifestyle. Below are some of the side effects of overthinking on your lifestyle:
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Causes Sleeplessness
If you are an overthinker, you probably face sleep problems. This is because your body does not allow you to sleep when your mind is not at peace. Ruminating on almost everything and worrying constantly about things over which you have little or no control often lead to fewer hours of sleep. Thus, overthinking impairs your quality of sleep and may make you cranky the next day as well.
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Encourages Indecision
When thinking, we often come up with some ideas to solve the problems at hand. But when overthinking becomes a habit, there are just so many situations and scenarios that we build up in our heads, that it becomes excessively difficult to choose one.
You could get stuck in potential consequences that may not even happen, just worrying about certain outcomes, and that can paralyze us or freeze us from taking an action.
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Triggers Mental Illness
Are you always fixated on your past mistakes? Dwelling on your mistakes, problems and shortcomings increases your chances of being affected by mental health problems. Overthinking can set you up for a vicious cycle that is hard to break. It wreaks havoc on your mental peace and as you lose your peace of mind, you tend to overthink.
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Leads To Anxiety
If you overthink often, you may develop anxiety, which is a response to stress. Anxiety could manifest physical symptoms like shaky hands, sweating profusely, difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath, and so on.
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Deadens Problem-solving Potential
Do you overanalyze things? Overthinkers believe that rehashing certain situations or problems in the head helps them overcome them. However, studies claim otherwise. Overanalyzing interferes with one’s ability to solve problems as it causes you to dwell on the problem and imagine situations that may never happen, rather than finding a solution.
Even making simple choices, like choosing an outfit for the day or deciding on the next vacation spot, may feel like a life-or-death situation when you are an overthinker. Ironically, all that overthinking will never help you make a better choice!
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Ruins Your Appetite
Overthinking could also affect the way you eat. It suppresses your appetite, making you skip meals. And by going days without eating, you could lose weight in a very unhealthy way. Thus, it affects your look and vibrancy of your being. It may then extend to your professionalism which may deplete your productivity!
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Weakens Creativity
Creativity stems from certain parts of your brain that are responsible for the cognition of problems at hand. However, overthinking often exerts the brain so much that, it is too tired to think out of the box. This was proven by a study conducted in the U.K. which discovered that certain parts of your brain and cognitive processes are quiet, you’re more creative. However, the mental rut caused by overthinking, overrides our creative thoughts.
