We are constantly told about the importance of thinking things through before making decisions, of processing response options so as not to make mistakes in the choices we must make in daily life, thinking about whether it is not something inappropriate is something normal and vital.
However, What happens when we think too much? When does this thinking and thinking become a lifestyle that leads to indecision and/or frustration?
Thinking excessively is a destructive and toxic habit, the more we think about things, the more lost we are, the more we postpone what we have to do. Overthinking too much decreases energy, mentally exhausts, stresses, generates anxiety and in more critical cases, if not controlled, it can lead to depression, since we begin to feel increasingly worse about our lives, about ourselves. And that harms our health, well-being, quality of life and, over time, our self-esteem.
Sometimes we think too much about things and we do not prosper in what we have to do, we distress our lives by reminding ourselves over and over again of the failures of the past, we become overwhelmed with our present problems and worry about the uncertainty of the future, people have more of 5000 thoughts a day and most of these thoughts are repetitive, this daily habit of thinking the same thing over and over like a broken record, makes us fall into unwanted, negative and fruitless thought loops, ruminating on a thought throughout the day. day is so detrimental and harmful to our lives, since what we focus our attention on grows and if our attention is focused on the bad, on the negative in life, this ends up shaping our reality and who we are.
The problem with thinking too much is that it is not easy to identify the thought cycle when we are immersed in it, which is why without realizing it we often end up falling into these repetitive thoughts that take us nowhere, we try to convince ourselves that thinking things is a good thing for us, because it makes sense that the more we think about something, the better decisions we will make, the more prepared we will be to avoid making the mistakes of the past and the more tools we will have to face the challenges of the future.
We say that thinking too much is an enemy of self-esteem, since When a ruminative thought arises, we feel bad about ourselves, procrastination and inaction take precedence which has an impact on looking for activities that allow us to distract ourselves from it, such as: drinking, smoking, seeking company, consuming psychoactive substances, generating addictions (gambling, sex, cell phones, social networks), which provide ephemeral, circumstantial and well-being. momentary, but when its effect ends they end up deteriorating self-esteem, self-knowledge and self-concept.
Warning signs
Some signs that tell us that we are having the habit of thinking too much or are:
Tips
But how do we stop thinking and thinking? How do we disconnect from our loops of negative and repetitive thoughts that we have throughout the day? How to think in a more appropriate and healthy way?
A first step is to be aware that we are thinking too much; This allows us to detect the thought loops that block us, stop them and be alert to break that connection with attention, calm the mind by focusing attention on the present moment to the experience of here and now, recognize that our senses perceive, that We see, what we hear and what we feel, it keeps us away from undesirable thoughts.
Another factor to take into account is recognize that this habit of overthinking is of no use nor at all productive, which, on the contrary, brings more negative consequences for us, our lives, since it limits us, generates indecision, frustration, deterioration of our social relationships and our self-esteem.
Finally, it is important to include in the daily routine activities that are productive for us and that promote our physical, emotional and social well-being (e.g., exercising, painting, dancing, reading, singing, etc.), one of the Strategies to reduce ruminative thoughts are not to become absorbed, but to be in alert interaction with the outside, in conclusion, it is to get out of the mind to give yourself the opportunity to live.
