What is the root cause of overthinking? (2023)

What is the root cause of overthinking?

The main factors that can lead to overthinking are stress and anxiety, which can be common in the times we're in, says Syslo. So, considering the past two years, it's likely you've found yourself overthinking at some point. "Anxiety is typically a response to fear — a fear of what might come,” says Syslo.

Often overthinking is a byproduct of anxiety or depression. If this is the case, you can treat your anxiety or depression to reduce overthinking. You may also find that overthinking only materializes when you need to make a tough life decision or are dealing with your insecurities.

"Studies show that ruminating on stressful events can, over time, lead to anxiety and depression," warns Dr. Fowler. "From a mental health standpoint, anxiety can affect your ability to cope with everyday stressors, and depression results in sadness, loneliness and feelings of emptiness."

In order to figure out how to manage overthinking, you have to understand what exactly is happening in your brain in the first place that causes the constant worrying. According to Davis, it all goes down in the prefrontal cortex, or what she calls "the control center" of the brain.

Your brain is generating so many different thoughts and scenarios that aren't really going toward anything productive. “Mental energy without any sort of physical outlet absolutely can be fatiguing, and make it feel like you're exhausted because you spent so much time inside your own head,” Laura says.

People who overthink tend to score high in the neurotic department. Neuroticism is one of the five big personality traits, along with openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness. It's linked to anxiety, fear, moodiness, worry, envy and frustration.

In addition, medications originally designed for depression, the SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Effexor, Cymbalta, and others), are also capable of lowering the underlying level of anxiety which takes a lot of steam out of this phenomenon.

Is overthinking a mental illness?

Overthinking is not in itself a medical term, but research shows the habit can have real impacts on our well-being. Oftentimes, overthinking involves focusing on the negative — rehashing the past, dwelling on bad experiences or worrying about the future.

However, overthinking, in terms of worry and rumination, is a learned strategy that we choose – consciously or unconsciously – in trying to deal with our thoughts and feelings. It's basically a habit that we fall into, but we can learn to change it.

Overthinkers need to constantly be reassured. With overthinkers, don't focus too much on the truth of what happened. Even if the thing they are losing their mind over is completely unfounded, focus instead on reassuring them that everything is fine and that you still care about them.

The two types of overthinking are rumination (which involves rehashing past events) and worrying (or hyperfocusing on an anxious concern about the future).

You may know that social anxiety is linked to a high intelligence or that there's a neurological correlation between being highly creative and mentally ill but what you may not know is that worrying – and overthinking in particular – has now been linked to creative genius.

There is no such thing as overthinking disorder. However, there is of course such a thing as generalised anxiety disorder, a symptom of which can be overthinking.

While overthinking itself is not a mental illness, it is associated with conditions including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance use disorders. Rumination can be common in people who have chronic pain and chronic illness as well, taking the form of negative thoughts about that pain and healing from it.

Which type Overthinks the most?

INFP. INFPs overthink most things, and will analyze information much more than people realize. INFPs have such active inner minds, and they often spend lengths of time just overthinking things and trying to process their thoughts and feelings.

When you can't stop analyzing a situation over and over in your mind, it could be indicative of an anxiety disorder that you aren't aware of, Dr. Van Niel says. These conditions are common, affecting nearly 30 percent of adults at some point in their lives, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Dwelling on your mistakes, problems and shortcomings increases your chances of being affected by mental health problems. Overthinking can set you up for a vicious cycle that is hard to break. It wreaks havoc on your mental peace and as you lose your peace of mind, you tend to overthink.