As a student, overthinking affects me nearly every day, ranging from personal to school life. Overthinking takes a severe toll on your well-being through thought destructive patterns: profoundly thinking and constant worrying. Either way, we should aim to break these patterns.

Profoundly Thinking is also known as ruminating. These thoughts don't lead to solutions or resolutions. For example, worrying that you would be in a better position today if you hadn't quit your job a few weeks ago. Reflecting on your past won't fix what's happening today.

Constant worrying is future thoughts, often absurd. For instance, to believe that you will forget all your lines tomorrow during your presentation. Having this mindset won't help you at all.

How to Control Overthinking?

You can reduce immersing yourself in the negative thought processes by taking a step back on your inner thinking.

The Evidence and Problem Solving

Once you realize that you are making claims that lead to negativity, step back and question yourself: What evidence do I have that makes it valid?

For a student, it may look like this, immersing themselves in the thought that they missed every question on the test they took yesterday. Has the assessment been graded yet? What evidence can you present that you didn't perform well?

Taking a step back would be to relax or come up with a solution to bring evidence to the table that you hadn't performed well. Your ultimate goal should be to jump out of the negative thought process.

Change the Topic

Often, changing the topic can prevent the negative thought process from causing emotional consequences.

If you're worried about what people might think of your performance at the football game yesterday? Why not watch a favorite TV show, or have a conversation that interests you.

Takeaway

Regardless of where you are standing right now, take a move. Look towards a solution. Don't let negative thought patterns affect your emotions. Understand that immersing yourself in negativity won't bring you peace. Instead, it will increase your worries. It's not only affecting your feelings but can also cause anxiety.

If overthinking has interested you, check out this stunning video by Thomas Frank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUbrVeZm2jo.