Are You an Overthinker?
Are you a chronic thinker like me? Constantly analyzing situations, replaying what happened or imagining what might happen?
It’s not your fault. We have gained access to infinite information, yet our capacity to process it has not changed. We all get stuck in our heads sometimes, but overthinking has detrimental costs that often go unrecognized:
Sleep quality
Can’t fall asleep? Or wake up at 3am to pee and can’t get back to sleep? Not getting enough rest impacts everything else -- every body system must work harder, synaptic sparks get fuzzy, and emotional regulation gets sticky tricky.
Emotional processing
Overthinkers have a tendency to jump into the Mind Maze when the going gets tough in Emotions Land. Staying busy or numbing out. This short-term relief brings long-term consequences, like physical health issues, relationship challenges, addiction, anxiety, depression… more screen time anyone? [EMOJI]
Listening
(This one is most ouchy for me.) When the brain be buzzing all busy bee, it is even more difficult to remain open and curious. We cannot absorb what is really being said before the mind dictates our reactions -- by putting a self-serving spin on what we half-heard, and/or interrupting with our own brilliant inputs. [EMOJI]
Relationships
Sleep deficits, emotional blockages, and poor listening first become evident in our closest relationships (aka, our best mirrors). Being truly available to another is impossible when we are running from ourselves. We have less ability to rewire our conditioned patterns of relating, and find ourselves in familiar cycles of discord. Yay.
Open-mindedness + Creativity
Sounds counterintuitive, but mental spinning blocks receptivity to new ideas and the free flow of fresh curiosities that seed any new anything. Analysis paralysis is an obvious example, but this cost also goes deeper into the micro-moments of everyday life. Stagnancy is death.
Work performance
Emotional blockages and less creative agency lead to challenges in our work. Whether researching a cure, designing a billboard ad, or punching numbers into a spreadsheet, both efficacy and efficiency decline with overthinking.
The more we hang out in the mental space, the more cluttered it gets. Like the living room after a bunch of teenagers played video games there all afternoon.
The solution?
Vacate the premises. When we can find somewhere else to be, for even a few moments, it gives the cleaning service a chance to pick up the empty chip bags and soda cans, straighten the couch cushions, and sweep up the crumbs.
Where to go?
Finding clarity in the mind might be as simple as spending more time in the body. There are as many ways to do this as there are opportunities to experiment.
How do I know what works for me?
Imagine having a dedicated guide by your side, listening to both your challenges and your visions for who you want to be. This teammate holds up a mirror, supporting you to look more closely, with kind, objective curiosity. She designs customized movement experiments that invite you to playfully explore all of it through a new lens - your body.
Sound compelling? Maybe we should work together. Schedule a little time for us to find out.
Image by Michael Dziedzic on Unspalsh
