To The Girl Who Overthinks Everything,

I’m sure you are overthinking right now as to why you clicked on this letter. You are probably questioning what this means for you, and assuming that it’s a bad thing to consider yourself an over-thinker. But the point of this letter isn’t to target you in any way, shape, or form. Instead, I write this letter to you so that you realize you are not alone, as I am a fellow over-thinker myself. I write this letter to you so that you realize it’s okay to overthink sometimes, but not all the time. Yet most importantly, I write this letter to you so that you realize the importance of why you should stop overthinking and start actually living.

Ever heard of the word ruminator? This is the term that psychologists use to define overthinkers like you and I. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all guilty of being ruminators at some point in time. Sometimes the smallest of things can trigger the deepest of thoughts. Why isn’t he answering my text? Why was that conversation so dull? Other times, we think about life’s bigger pictures a bit too in depth. What’s my future going to be like? What do I need to be better at? Sure, these thoughts are okay to wonder about every once in a while, but if you constantly overanalyze them, you will unintentionally put your mind in an anxious state.

As an overthinker, your thoughts can get the best of you. The mind works in mysterious ways, and as a result, this can make situations seem worse than they actually are. You are in charge of your own reality, and how you think will influence that. If you’re overthinking about how awkwardly the last conversation with your crush went, chances are that the next conversation you two have will be 10 times more awkward than the first simply because you are thinking about it. Stop scrutinizing the scenario, stop doubting every word exchanged, and stop questioning your ability to chat with someone. Your thoughts hold more power than you think.

When you put things into perspective, overthinking only hinders your life. Obsessing over the things that could go wrong in the future, or have gone wrong in the past, only limits the present. The beauty of life is that it’s unpredictable, and as much as you like to think that you’re in control of it, you’re not. You are living life at your full potential when you stop overthinking every possible scenario. It may be hard to break out of your overthinking habits all at once, but you should try to lessen them day by day. I promise that you won’t regret it, because once you do this, life will be much more at ease.

So take a deep breath and relax. Put your trust in fate, and realize that what is meant to be will be, regardless of if you overthink it or not. A quote by philosopher Lao Tzu says it the best: “If you are depressed you are living in the past, if you are anxious you are living in the future, and if you are at peace you are living in the present.”