How to know if I think too much: 8 signs

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Thinking too much has consequences both physically and mentally. What happens is that many times we are not aware of this habit. This way you can identify it.

We think all the time about every activity we do. The content of this activity, thoughts can worry us when their presence is constant, asking us how far it is normal for them to pursue us, as if they were our shadow; that insistent internal voice can become really disturbing, generating discomfort. Now, when do I think too much?

In this article you will learn more about how thoughts work, along with the signs that will allow you to identify if your thoughts are excessive or are beginning to take control of your mental life, which could harm you at any time.

How does thinking work?

To start, it is important that you know a little about how thoughts work. Remember that How we think affects our emotions, feelings and behaviors.

Thoughts are the contents of our mental processes that occur in our brain, which can be voluntary or involuntary. They are ideas, beliefs and memories interacting with each other, their content can be positive or negative, sometimes generating a lot of mental activity, with the energy consumption and wear and tear that this implies.

These processes can generate ways of thinking such as rumination, worry or obsession.

Rumination produces repetitive thoughts about the problems we have., the past and failure; being in many cases an obstacle to implementing a solution.

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For its part, Worry refers to a chain of negative thoughts that represent an attempt to provide a solution. mental to the problem, relating to fear, future events and possible threats.

Obsessive thoughts arise in an intrusive way and generate discomfort when the person gives them the nature of reality, implying fixation on the same idea.

Although the previous ways of thinking are different, they agree that they are persevering, having the power, in some way, to prevent us from stopping paying attention to the negative aspects, generating difficulties on a personal level, especially in our ability to concentrate. Thus, we can observe that thinking too much can cause manifestations such as rumination, worry and obsession.

Signs that indicate if our thinking is excessive

Below, we present eight basic signs that can tell us if our thoughts are getting out of control, so we can prevent emotional problems:

Presence of constant negative thoughts about oneself, the world or others, which appear quickly and automatically.The thoughts don’t stop even for a whileor you can’t let go of your worries. Imagine that the worst is going to happen. Think about things, overthink situations.Frequently relive conversations in our heads.Constantly think about past issues or possible failures.Thoughts are perceived as a heavy burden and generate a feeling of tiredness or impatience. Difficulty falling asleep, insomnia or waking up at night due to various thoughts.

If we analyze these signals, we can realize that, When we think too much, we fall into a cycle that generates discomfort, constantly reviewing situations, their causes and even consequences and directing attention to what goes wrong, which prevents us from differentiating situations that are within and outside of our control. Furthermore, when we stop at these signs, we can see that many of them are manifestations of rumination, worry or obsession.

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Thinking excessively can be an indicator of difficulty solving our problems; In this sense, thinking about them does not mean taking care of them. On the other hand, by not taking care of them, by not taking action, they will hardly be resolved and will stop making us waste mental energy.

It is advisable Identify these signs in time, since repetitive negative thoughts can be the origin of several psychological problemsamong which are anxiety or mood disorders.

However, having these types of thoughts does not necessarily imply the presence of a mental disorder; That is, if you identify that your thinking is related to some signals, it can be an alarm to begin to discover if they are affecting your emotions or behaviors in a considerable way, and if so, you can seek professional help.

In accordance with the above, it is also important to remember that all people think about the problems we have or the situations that happen to us, the problem appears when we ruminate or worry in an unlimited or excessive way, even when the situation has already been resolved; or when we become obsessed with a topic that has no relevance, that does not present a danger to us and that when reviewing reality we do not find objective reasons for this concern.