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I have written a post where I shared my concern that I maybe overthinking about my autistic son’s future. This was followed by another post where I then shared 5 strategies to stop overthinking.

From the response that I received it seems that overthinking is quite common and a lot of readers shared their own experiences of overthinking and this affect their lives. So how do you know that you are overthinking? Look out for these 7 symptoms.

1 Your Mind Gets Hijacked

In certain circumstances your mind gets hijacked and race away on its own. It is as if someone else is now in control of your thoughts. For example, just as you are about to give a sales presentation, these kind of thoughts come racing through your mind. Should I be giving this talk or will my co-worker be able to do a better job? Am I qualified or have I been given adequate training to do the sales presentation? What if the client does not like my ideas? Should I be wearing my black tie, perhaps my grey tie will make me look more confident? Your thoughts now have a life of its own and you become totally distracted from your present task.

2 The Smallest Things Can Trigger Your Overthinking

Your overthinking is triggered by the smallest things for example what somebody innocently says, the way someone looks at you, what someone does or what someone does not do. Going back to the sales presentation example, suppose that the client glances at his watch. You will start thinking along this line. Oh My God, why is he looking at his watch? Is he being bored by my presentation? Perhaps I gave too many facts and figures at the beginning of the presentation. He is not going to buy my products. What will happen to my job?

3 You Agonize Over Even The Smallest Decision

Decision making becomes tougher and tougher as you agonize over the smallest decision. You over analyse over each and every situation and also on all the possible consequences of your action. Take the example of calling a person who has been out on a few dates with you. Should I call him now or later on? If I call him now, will he think that I am too clingy and will this make me look desperate? If I don’t call him now, will he think that I do not care about him or that I am not interested in him? What if he does not want to take my call? What if my call interrupts him?

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4 You Are Restless and Anxious

You become restless and anxious. I will consider this as both a symptom and a consequence of overthinking. Overthinking will make you both restless and anxious. The physiology in your body changes as you worry and become more anxious. Your throat becomes dry, your heart suddenly beat faster and you get butterflies in your stomach. These physical changes in the body are symptoms that you are overthinking.

5. You Are Having Problems Sleeping

Once you start to overthink and become anxious, you will have difficulty in sleeping at night. It is quite common for you to wake up in the middle of the night and think of all kinds of things. You may eventually suffer from sleep deprivation.

6. You Become Irritable and Are Prone To Anger

Once you are prone to overthinking, you become irritable and angry easily. Your anger can be triggered by the smallest things and you may lash out at those around you especially your loved ones. It becomes harder and harder for you to control and manage your anger.

7. Your Work At The Office Will Be Affected.

As your overthinking begins to spiral, it will become harder and harder for your colleagues to work with you. You will tend to micro-manage a lot of situations. You will find difficulty in trusting your subordinates. Eventually the quality of your work will declined.

If you do have these symptoms, know that you are not alone. A lot of us tend to overthink and end up over anxious. A lot of us too have overcome such situations as well and have emerged stronger. The first step is to acknowledge and admit that you have such a problem and then look for resources which can help you.

Follow me and stay positive.

Do check out my previous posts.

Life After Hardfork 20

Am I Overthinking About My Autistic Son’s Future

Thinking Is Additive: 5 Strategies To Help Us Stop Overthinking

Spreading positivity one post at a time.
Charles

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