A lot of things can cause people to get upset during the course of a day, but most of us are able to brush them off and move on. For example, your husband may utter an insensitive remark or your boss comments negatively about your work, and it just gets into your nerves. Most of the time, we just choose to let it pass, but sometimes negative thoughts tend to run over and over, until we get stuck in a mental rut.
Sometimes, something really terrible happens, like getting fired from a job, breaking off a relationship, or losing a loved one. We normally go through the stages of grieving and after some time, we learn to accept our loss and move on with our lives. But what if the process of negative thinking never seems to stop?
Everyone has probably …show more content…
You may also evaluate and judge yourself constantly, asking yourself, “Why did this happen to me?” or “Why did I not do this or that?” You may blame yourself and lose your self-esteem.
Research on this pattern of thinking shows that people who constantly ruminate are more likely to be depressed in the future (like a year later) than those who do not overthink, even when they are sad or feeling down. Evidence shows that overthinking can worsen pre-existing sadness and promote negative thinking. Findings also show that rumination contributes to the onset and maintenance of depression.
This is why cognitive and behavioral therapies for depression often involve recognizing and challenging negative thoughts as they come up and focusing on making thinking less negative. Although part of the process of grieving and accepting a loss involves thinking about past negative events, repetitive thinking, if uncontrolled, can lead to depression. Moreover, the practice of overthinking also tends to involve thoughts that become darker over time as negative thoughts become …show more content…
But one clue to distinguish whether you are just trying to gain insight or overthinking is to ask yourself whether your thoughts are leading to a solution or a resolution to solve the problem. If you are getting more overwhelmed and immobilized by your thoughts, you may be overthinking in an unhealthy manner.

Help for Overthinking
How can you break the cycle of overthinking?
The first step is to find positive ways to distract yourself from ceaseless brooding. You don’t even have to think of ingenious ways to reroute your ways of thinking. You can try to engage in some physical activity that demands attention, such as dancing, tennis, or mountain-biking. Other activities that can help you break negative thinking include playing with kids in the park, reading a good book or playing video games. These activities will lift your mood and help you think more positively as they make you feel better physically and emotionally.
What else?
Think of small ways to solve the problem you are ruminating about. If you were laid off your job, focus on finding ways to make your resume look better. Learn a new computer skill, perhaps? Or why not try an online course?
Ask yourself, “If I could change one small thing today, what would it