Daily Struggles Only Overthinkers Will Understand

1. Getting out of bed...

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Welcome to your day in the life of a chronic over thinker! Your first challenge seems like a simple one: get out of bed in the morning. Your alarm begins to beep- and so it begins. Your brain jolts into overdrive, trying to simultaneously analyse both yesterday and the day ahead. Yikes!

2. ...especially after a sleepless night

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Oh and we forgot to mention: you're also already feeling very sleepy and exhausted because you had a terrible night's sleep. That brain of yours was too busy thinking for sleeping! Worries about the day and plans for the rest of the week were chasing each other round and round until the wee hours.

3. Deciding what to wear

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Congratulations, you made it through round one! Duvet successfully ditched, it's time to open the closet. This is where what we really need is Cher from Clueless' digital wardrobe to flip through- because otherwise your room is going to be covered in clothes before you've managed to decide on an outfit.

4. The decision paralysis begins

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That was your first taste of a classic over thinkers' struggle. Decision paralysis: when the inability to choose between options leaves your frozen, unable to actually move forward with any of them. And this can strike at any time- do I want cereal or eggs? Do I need to take a jacket today? Etc. etc. etc.

5. Getting out of the house on time

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Given all that we've already encountered as an over thinker, and it's only about 8.30am, it might not come as a surprise that by this point you're probably running late! Time management becomes a million times harder when you're planning each of your moves with the intensity of a chess grandmaster playing for the title.

6. Overthinking can make the commute even more hellish (if you can imagine such a thing)

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Once you finally manage to escape the house, filled as it is with a million tiny decisions  then you're faced with what should be an easy one: your route to work. After all, you go every day, no problem, right? Wrong! You can get the bus or the subway, or it would only take an extra ten minutes to walk (and of course by the time you factor in waiting for the bus it might work out quicker...). Just listen to those minutes slip by as you struggle to, almost literally, just pick a lane.

7.  Were you rude to the barista??

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Say you're finally en route to work (phew), and you somehow still have time to stop and pick up a cup of Joe. Despite the glorious restorative qualities of a good cup of coffee, as you leave Starbies you might find yourself worrying: in your haste, were you rude to the barista? Was your tone snappy or rushed?

8. Resting B face

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Maybe this one's just me. I'm a fully paid member of Overthinkers Anonymous, spending hours internally obsessing over every little thing. Because half the time I'm zoned out, pre-planning something entirely out of my control or replaying a conversation I had two months ago, often my face is blank and kinda unfriendly looking.

9. Struggling with confidence at work

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If your day in a life as an over thinker involves time in a work place, then buckle up because you're in for a bumpy ride. It's hard enough at the best of times to have the courage to put yourself forward, but if you're struggling with the self doubt that overthinking brings it can be even harder. You'll want to do something completely normal, and it will feel as outlandish as putting your feet up on the desk! Just know: we believe in you!!

10. Feeling super awkward at the water cooler

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Unless you're working in a very traditional office (or have time travelled back to the 1980s) it might not be a literal water cooler, but at most work places there's a spot people go for a chill and a chat. As an over thinker, this is prime anxiety territory: were you friendly enough? Or was the question you asked your colleague Kate too personal?!

11. Internal instant replay

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You have a built in internal instant replay, and in fact it's not just internal but eternal- you could replay events in your head forever and ever and ever! It's a bit like those systems they have at sports games, but instead of goals, you're replaying everything you've ever said.

12. Obsessing over whether people are mad at you

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If a magical genie gave me three wishes, I would be so tempted to use one to find out a definitive list of who is and isn't mad at me- just settle the issue once and for all. (This would be after I solved world hunger and established world peace, obvs).

13. Thinking you've left the oven on/door unlocked/tap flowing

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If fire, flood, and crime were actually as prevalent as the anxious mind would imply, there would be basically none of us left to worry about it! An overactive anxious brain will convince you that the faucet is flooding your house, right now, and that you have to go back and check! Luckily if you did leave the tap AND the oven on, the deluge would probably put out the fire. So that's...comforting? I think?

14. Endless planning with no action

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It's almost like Elvis wrote this one just for us, over thinkers: "a little less conversation, a little more action please". Endless thinking can mean that none of it is actually converting into a course of action, meaning you spend all of your time back at the drawing board!

15. Choosing what to have for dinner

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It's time for another decision paralysis moment! It's the end of a long day, and now you have to choose what to cook. Sometimes you can spend so long deciding that you end up ordering take out (again!) which can be a real strain on personal finances after a while.

16. Worrying about money

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In countless surveys the world over, finances consistently sit near the top of the list of stress-causers. Making and managing money is a stressful business that can place a huge strain on you, especially if you're prone to obsessing over worries. If your finances are causing you undue stress and anxiety, try to open up to a friend or seek some support.

17. Beating yourself up when you make a mistake

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The thing about overthinking is that it can lead you to believe that making a mistake is the end of the world. You brain tumbles down the helter skelter from 'I shouldn't have said that' to 'I'm a bad person' quicker than the speed of light, even though logically we know that it doesn't mean that! Hey, remember: pobody's nerfect.

18. Coming across as insecure (or, at least, worrying that you are)

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All this worry and stress can be a lot to bear all on your own, and it is absolutely a good thing to open up to your nearest and dearest about your feelings. The slight problem with this is that consistently seeking assurance can make you feel that you're coming off as insecure, which makes you seek reassurance, which makes- well, you see where this is going...it's a vicious cycle (hence the photo of the Soul Cycle bike)

19. Toilet terror

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This is one that the Under Thinkers (as I like to call them) might not be aware of, or even believe at first. People really struggling with over thinking, to the point of an anxiety disorder, often have issues due to feeling they need to go to the toilet all the time. It's part physiological stress response, part hyperfixation- it keeps people up at night, and stops them from going to the cinema or doing other things where they won't have easy access to a toilet.

20. Netflix paralysis

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Say you choose not to go to the cinema of an evening; either due to the toilet situation, because you couldn't pick a screening inside, or because you're worrying about finances (to be fair, those concessions are extortionate!) Even a simple evening of Netflix can leave you reeling at all the options, unable to choose!

21. Worrying about things outside of your control

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For an over thinker there's the mistaken sense that if they can just think something through enough, if they can crack the problem, that they'll have a modicum of control over the future. For lots of things in life this is true, but there are an equal amount of instances where this just doesn't apply. Accepting that will be one of your biggest challenges.

22. Missing out on the present

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All this analysis of the past, and planning for the future, can miss out a crucial element of your human experience: enjoying the present! As the saying goes: "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present".

23. Talking yourself out of your gut feelings

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There's not much as satisfying in life as a good gut feeling. Sometimes when you know, you know. But even when you have a really good feeling about something, or someone, over thinking can let worry taint your hunch with pesky doubt. It doesn't necessarily mean your gut feeling was wrong- sometimes your brain is just being over cautious.

24. Over Analyzing text messages

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Whoever sent you the text/Whatsapp/Snapchat (depending on which tech generation you belong to) probably hit send without a care in the world. A simple, casual message. But give a few hours and you've re-read it over 247 times, analysing the tone and any possible double meanings.

25. Fatigue

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If you're starting to think this all sounds a bit exhausting, well, you'd be dead right. One struggle for over thinkers is just how tiring all these mental gymnastics are. After all, modern life is relentless enough as it is, without your mind creating more and more work for you to do alongside all your regular life admin.

26. Increased heart rate

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One of the struggles we haven't touched on yet are the physical ones. When you work out physically at the gym, your body reacts- you get sweaty and achy. (Or so people tell me, ngl I'm not a regular at the gym myself). And it's similar when your brain is working out hard too- I sometimes find myself trying to make a simple choice with the thumping heart rate of someone being hunted for sport.

27.  You end up ordering things you don't actually want

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Could we make a worldwide pact that there should be fewer options on menus? Like, as a general rule? Because when you've spent all your time in the queue desperately agonising between 13 different coffee blends and 18 varieties of muffin, you're likely to panic when you reach the counter and end of ordering something utterly random.

28. All aboard at procrastination station!

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All abbooooaaaard! It's a train that's easy to get on, and almost impossible to get off- an express service straight to Waste-of-Timeville. But being prone to procrastinate doesn't make you lazy, it might just be that your trying to avoid actually making choices!

29. Spending way too long in the grocery store

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My local grocery store seem convinced I'm there to shoplift half the time. Their suspicion has been aroused by the amount of time I spend walking up and down the same aisles over and over again- surely no one could genuinely be that indecisive, I hear them think. But they've underestimated me and my endless over-thinking abilities.

30. Asking for help

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This one's big: and kind of important. If overthinking is starting to take over your life, and it's causing you distress, it can feel really hard to open up about it. You might worry that people will think you're being silly, or over dramatic. But if it's causing you anxiety, it deserves to be taken seriously. Try talking to a trusted friend or family member or, if you're more comfortable, you can reach out to your doctor or a counsellor. There's lots of help out there, and remember you are definitely not alone.