Are YOU an overthinker? Psychologist reveals the 9 most important signs – from anxiety when you can’t read another person’s feelings to vividly re-enacting embarrassing moments
- dr Lalitaa Suglani is a Birmingham licensed psychologist
- She creates content on mental health topics for her followers on Instagram
- In a recent post, she discussed how overthinking can affect mental health
- Revealed 9 signs you might be an overthinker – like fixation on perceived flaws
From questioning your decisions to vividly recalling embarrassing moments and self-criticizing about them, a psychologist has identified nine signs you might be an overthinker.
dr Lalitaa Suglani, a Birmingham-based psychologist, shared the information in a post on Instagram, where she has around 80,000 followers.
In the post, she discussed why overthinking can have such a negative impact on your mental health.
according to dr Lalitaa everyone “goes in too deep [their] get to the bottom of things’ and it’s ‘totally normal’ to overthink things sometimes.
According to licensed psychologist Dr. Lalitaa Suglani (not pictured) ‘completely normal’ but if it affects daily life then it’s good to try and deal with (stock image)
“We’ve all gotten too caught up in our own thoughts and have all found ourselves in the endless spiral of what-ifs that come and go with life,” she explained.
The 9 Signs of Dr. Lalitaa Suglani for being a thinker
1. You like to “read” people and feel stressed/anxious when you can’t understand their feelings.
2. You question your decisions and therefore ask several people for advice, direction or guidance.
3. You want to get to the root of why someone said what they did.
4. Blunt answers make you wonder why someone is mad at you.
5. You vividly remember embarrassing moments and then criticize yourself for a long time afterwards.
6. You plan conversations in your head and think of different ways the conversation can go.
7. You fixate on things you can’t control, change, or improve.
8. You imagine the worst possible scenario or outcome.
9. You question decisions you’ve made and repeat your perceived mistakes in your head.
“We are all human and there will be times when we reconsider things, which is perfectly normal.”
But, she noted, when overthinking is having an impact on your daily life and mental health, it’s “useful to understand and develop strategies to deal with it.”
dr Lalitaa wrote, “Excessive thinking can affect how you perceive and engage with the world around you, prevent you from making important decisions, prevent you from enjoying the present moment, and drain you of the energy to you need to deal with daily stressors.”
The psychologist listed some of the questions people can ponder when they think too much, such as, “What if they don’t like me? What if this change makes things worse?’
Explaining how this can affect people, she added: “[It] can cause so much heartache and anxiety and prevent you from making choices and choices that will fuel your growth. It doesn’t have to be.”
Your nine signs that you’re an overthinker include wanting to read people and getting stressed when you can’t, questioning your decisions, asking multiple people for advice, and wanting to get to the bottom of why someone did what said you did.
She also listed questions about why someone is mad at you when they answer you bluntly, vividly recalling embarrassing moments and criticizing themselves long afterwards, planning conversations in your head, and thinking of different ways the conversation can go.
Your last three signs have been fixation on things you can’t control, change or improve, imagining the worst-case scenario or outcome, questioning decisions, and repeating your perceived mistakes in your head
Several commenters took to the post to reveal that they recognize these signs in their own behavior.
A number of Instagram users took to the post
One Instagram user wrote: “Definitely me!! Overthinking is as exhausting and stressful as a full-time job with no salary! It’s killing me.”
Meanwhile, another revealed: “I can relate to at least 8 of them. It’s the worst feeling to be like this.’
Another commenter said: “[I do] all especially 4. I send detailed texts and explain my explanations lol.’
dr Lalitaa added that there are strategies people can use to help when it comes to overthinking, which she will share in future posts.