At this stage of my life, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t overthinking. I obsess over absolutely everything – every word, every tone of voice, every small detail that most people would just ignore. Because of it, my life has been completely taken over by my thoughts.
I want you to understand what’s it’s like to live like this. Most of all, I want you to understand that overthinking is so much more than just anxiety.
It’s The Fear of Failure
All you can think about is everything that could go wrong in your life. Whenever you fail, you fixate on all the little things you did that could have been the reason behind it. Failure becomes your biggest fear, and when that fear turns into a reality, it’s suffocating.
Overthinking forces you to become petrified at the thought of failing at your job, in your relationships, or even just in life. Because of it, you end up taking extreme measures to try and ensure that you always succeed. Despite that, you usually only end up making things worse.
It’s Being Unable to Have a Conversation
The simplest words make you question everything. Even if someone asks how you are, you start to question why. In your mind, you wonder if you don’t seem like you’re okay, if they care, or if they’re just pretending to.
You wonder if they’re seeing through the façade you’ve put forward to pretend that you’re okay.
Every text has a hidden meaning. Every comment, compliment, or insult seems like it means so much more than what was actually said. There’s no rest for your mind and there’s no way to speak to anyone without digging deeper into their words.
Before you can have a conversation with someone, you need to plan it in advance. You plan your words and theirs, making sure that you know exactly what you should say and how you should react to them. Yet, the conversation never goes exactly to plan. Then, because of that, you’ll spend hours examining it all afterward.
It’s A Constant Companion That You Don’t Want
Overthinking stops being just your own thoughts. It becomes its own being, a demon on your shoulder that drives you insane at every second of the day. No matter how much you tell it to leave you alone and go away, it sticks to you.
All this monster wants is to destroy you from the inside out. It poisons you with doubt and paranoia and makes you afraid. You’d think that having something with you all the time wouldn’t make you feel as isolated as it does.
Sadly, being alone with your thoughts just makes you lonely.
Overthinking is not just worrying or stressing too much. It’s not even just anxiety. In reality, it’s a constant battle with yourself and with the thoughts inside your head. It’s being fragile and afraid, but still isolating yourself because of your paranoia. The sad truth is that once you begin to be consumed by your thoughts, it starts to control your whole life.
Do you know someone who overthinks most of the time? Share this article with them to let them know that you’re there for them.
