How Overthinking Has Impacted My Life | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Featured

How Overthinking Has Impacted My Life

Some tips and tricks to curbing those intrusive thoughts.

1665
How Overthinking Has Impacted My Life

This is a response to Inside The Mind Of An Overthinker.

Overthinking is something that I have struggled with for my entire life. It started off at such a young age, where I didn't think much of anything. I thought that I was just stressed, overstimulated or bored. Now that I am older, I know that it's overthinking. With that being said, overthinking is something that everyone does deal with, but for me I have noticed that it has taken control of my life. From the day-to-day tasks, social interactions, casual conversations or most commonly when I am alone with my thoughts. When I am alone, I get struck with a wave of overthinking from what I am doing wrong with my life, how I look, comparing myself to others and just beating myself down.

I saw a quote that said, 'it's hard to describe what you are thinking inside of your head when you struggle to even understand it yourself'. This quote hit me in a way that I cannot even begin to describe to my closest friends or family. I am often burdened with the negative side effects of mental illness and overthinking. Everything that I have ever done wrong in my life replays on a movie theater screen inside my head 24/7. It is on a continuous loop with no signs of slowing down or stopping. Let me tell you guys, that can get mentally and emotionally draining. Some of the struggles that I have had due to my overthinking entails; never being confident with my decisions, never feeling like I fit in, social anxiety, insomnia, never having enough energy to get throw the day, and feeling like I am not worth the love I know I deserve.

Overthinking is often used in a casual sense, but there is nothing casual about it. Some examples of overthinking thoughts; why did I say that, did I leave the curling iron on, should I go, should I stay, did I say the right thing there, should I go talk to that person, was that a stupid comment, you're not enough, you talk too much, you do not talk enough. The list goes on and on, but to sum overthinking up in a sentence, it's a curse. I truly believe that nobody understands the mind of an over thinker until you are one.

With that being said, there are some ways that I have learned to curve my bad habit. When I am getting to the point of overthinking, then I like to take some time to go somewhere alone and talk myself down. I take deep breaths and just talk out what I am feeling by myself. Remember that your thoughts cannot do any damage if you are in control, and if you have the power in that situation. You have the power to stop overthinking, to relax your mind, body and soul. My biggest advice is to give yourself some grace, but also remember you have the power to switch the off button. You have the power to do anything you set your mind to and make the situation better. Even if your mind is telling you that you can't, I promise you can. It will take a lot of time and effort, but putting time into yourself to get a piece of mind is worth the work.

Report this Content
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

873
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

654
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

55
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1347
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments