How To Not Overthink Friendships

Its a good and bad thing because sometimes we want to fix things that arent even a problem to begin with.

How to not overthink friendships. The weekly podcast about happiness creativity and the human condition. Your social environment plays a big part. Accept that thinking plays a legitimate role in life but may not always be useful. Were not really solving a problem overthinking is destructive and mentally draining.

If i could give anyone advice about being friends with an over thinker id say explain things even if its little and it doesnt seem like much it might mean a lot to us. Set a timer grab a pen and paper and for the entire 15 minutes write down everything that comes to your mind. And hopefully things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week. The blogs books forums movies podcasts and music in your life.

Things happen to us in childhood relationships friendships and in jobs and the ugly part of the experiences latch on to us so tight the thoughts about these past experiences surface like settled poison oozing through the brain in a single moment of thinking too much. Overthinking an issue event or even conversation is a common method of coping with stress. The real reason we overthink and how to stop. Dont stop to correct yourself pretend theres no eraser or backspace key it doesnt matter what youre writing.

Things like social interaction lifestyle design mental models. For many people overthinking things is just an automatic way of seeing the world but that mindset can lead to prolonged periods of depression and may even cause some people. What the secrets of the brain reveal about getting it right when you have to explains this astoundingly fatiguing phenomenon by quoting golf studies. But studies show that overthinking and ruminating on something stressfultroubling has strong ties with depression and anxiety.

It can make you feel like youre stuck in one place and if you dont act it can greatly impact. When a professional golfer starts thinking in the field she says he is just one thought shy of missing the hole and losing the game. As surprising as it may sound they make a perfect analogy. People who overthink are fixers.

Its about having realistic expectations for what you expect to get out of your friendships. The book by dr. Its not about lowering your friendship standards. But also what you read listen to and watch.

Things that are hard to examine but important to explore. Give yourself permission to overthink but only for 15 minutes. And not just the people and groups close to you in real life.