Tips on Overthinking for Introverts & Sensitives
The outtakes of Jim Carrey’s movie “Liar Liar” always have me in stiches. There’s one outtake in particular where his co-star calls him an overactor, which is hilarious because it’s true!!
Much of what he does in his acting is completely exaggerate everything. His mannerisms, his facial expressions, his vocal inflections, it’s all totally a part of who he is as a comedic genius.
It’s welcomed and celebrated, and overacting is a part of what created his success.
Overthinking on the other hand, is on a completely different boat.
Overthinking is not welcomed and celebrated. It’s not something that creates success and brings joy.
Overthinking can even become detrimental to your health and well-being.
I think it’s really important to talk about this because many Introverts struggle with overthinking.
Why Introverts Overthink
Introverts love meaning, depth, understanding. We like to make sense of things. In short, Introverts like to think. We enjoy it.
Some of us may’ve been called bookworms.
We’re introspective.
We internalize things and ponder them.
Did you know Albert Einstein, was an introvert? His theory of relativity created advancements in looking at time, space, matter, energy and gravity.
His personality was the perfect storm that influenced his genius. I could only imagine how much time he spent in quiet spaces, contemplating, pondering and processing information.
In short we’re in our heads a lot. A LOT. We can’t help it! We’re comfortable in there.
What Can Overthinking do to You
Thinking is great! Thinking can be productive. Thinking can cause creativity. It can create opportunities and solutions. Thinking has it’s place and is detrimental to human existence.
There are times when too much of a good thing can be bad for you.
Overthinking can physically and mentally drain you. It can cause you to be tired no matter how much sleep you get.
Overthinking can wear on you and take a toll on your body. It can cause you to have anxiety and worry, frustration, sadness, depression, and even illness.
It’s a slippery slope. This is why it’s so important to make sure you’re actively aware of your thinking, so your thinking doesn’t get the best of you.
How to Stop Overthinking
There are so many reasons why you can end up on a rabbit trail of an overthinking binge.
First I think it’s important to know it’s okay to think about things. If you’re in the middle of a complicated situation, you’re bound to try to figure it out and make sense of it.
The problem arises when you’re still thinking about it and toiling over it for days, weeks and months.
The first step is to get it out of your head.
What is the issue you’re thinking about? Talk it out. Write it down, talk to a trusted friend or your therapist. Just get it out.
Then decide, is this mine or someone elses? I say this because many Introverts (not all but many) can also be Highly Sensitive and/or Empaths which means we tend to be really sensitive to other people’s problems, feelings and situations. We can sometimes take on their feelings and emotions as our own without even realizing it.
It can sometimes take us a while to realize whether what we’re thinking about is ours or someone elses.
I can be feeling just fine, and then after I have a conversation with someone, all of a sudden I’m annoyed and irritated. Little did I know, I’ve taken on the irritation they were feeling without even realizing it.
This is why I wanted to do an overthinking piece that catered to Introverts. Overthinking just hits different for us.
If it involves you let it brew, if it involves someone else, let it melt
It’s okay to think about a situation. And if it is your problem, your situation, sure. It’s okay to think about it and ponder a solution.
If this problem involves you, take advantage of this overthinking trait and do a little work.
However, if this situation is someone elses problem, you have to put it in it’s proper place, which is not inside your brain. More on that later though.
Write in a journal.
Write about the issue and get it out of your head. Write as if no one will ever read it and just get everything down.
If you feel you have to rip it up after, go ahead and do that. But just write it all down.
Introverts hold so much inside because we’re naturally very introspective. We also don’t always have someone we trust to talk to. But that’s no excuse to suffer in silence.
Journaling can be very therapeutic and you may find the answers in one journal writing session. Sometimes you need to write about it more than once. That’s okay too! Do it as many times as you need to.
Talk to a therapist or trusted loved one.
Talk to someone whom you know will help you take accountability for your own actions and help you to heal. It can be really easy to zero on your situation, only seeing it from you eyes.
When you allow someone else in, they can give you a different perspective of the situation that perhaps you never thought of.
Ask yourself, what is the solution?
Think about possible solutions and then come up with one. If you can’t come up with one on your own, talk to someone you trust about it so they can help you come to a conclusion about the matter.
Sometimes it can be really easy to focus on the problem and get stuck there. If you can move yourself towards solutions, it will help you bring the overthinking to a resolve.
Find peace.
Find peace with the solution so you can move forward and move past overthinking.
Try looking in the mirror and telling yourself “All is well.”
You may have to circle around and do these things a few times until you’re able to make peace with everything. It’s okay.
These are really good ways to tackle a situation you’re overthinking about that involves you personally.
However, if you’re thinking about a situation that doesn’t involve you. Or if something happened to someone else and it doesn’t affect you directly, shake it off.
How do you shake off overthinking about someone elses situation?
The easiest way is to be present in your own skin. In your own body.
1. Sometimes you can literally do a quick shake of your hands. Imagine washing your hands only to realize there’s no towel available to dry them. Do a little shake shake shake, blow out some air and say “Nope! That’s not mine.”
2. My therapist gave me a relaxation technic to just rub my arms and legs to remind myself that I’m here in my own body. Take a few quick deep breaths while you do it.
3. You can do deep breathing exercises and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just breathe in deeply and breathe out deeply a few times until you feel calm.
4. Meditation is great if that’s your thing. Think of a happy place, a happy saying, or use a Bible verse.
The More Complicated the Situation, the More Overthinking Ensues
Life brings so many different types of situations. Some not so complicated, and then some are really intricately woven sets of problems that really can’t be undone without help.
If you have a really complicated problem that you can’t stop thinking about, I think it’s really important to talk to a therapist. Sure there’s plenty of work we can do on our own, but a licensed professional therapist can help you when you just can’t seem to dig yourself out of something no matter how hard you try.
For your own wellbeing, I think it’s so important to do this.
Should there be a time limit on overthinking?
You’ve got to be patient with yourself. Now-a-days people are in such a rush through life.
We rush here and there and everywhere. We rush through drive through’s for food, use microwaves for quick eats, use Amazon Prime for quick delivery of items we need. Everyone wants everything right now.
Please be gentle with yourself and try not to rush your own healing. It takes time to learn new habits, new skills, new things. So take your time and learn to limit overthinking as you go through different situations you encounter.
I don’t believe there should be a specific time limit you should give yourself. Just as long as you’re learning and improving.
In Conclusion… Self-Care
I want to conclude with talking about self-care because it’s so important for introverts, especially with regards to overthinking.
Take care of you, or you won’t have a “you” to take care of.
Make yourself take mental breaks.
Go get a coffee, take a walk, watch Netflix, physically do something to zap your brain into a different direction.
I personally find that doing cardio literally forces me to breathe deeply and focus on what I’m doing in the moment. I literally can’t think about problems when I’m huffing on the Stairmaster for 20 minutes sweating up a storm.
Find what works for you and do it. Take it easy on yourself, and give your brain a break.
For more on Introverts, check out these posts:
Things Introverts Hate vs. Things Introverts Love
How to Handle a Low Introvert Social Battery
Are Introverts More Prone to Depression?
OMG My Brain Won’t Stop!!! Introverts & Overthinking
