source: Passeport Santé, August 2019
author: Agnes Bourahla
translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise
Overthinking
" Overthinking ": literally, to think too much. An American researcher in psychology, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema has described this illness extensively, and the means of remedying it: she relates them in her work entitled Women who think too much...How to break free of overthinking and regain your life? Because, in fact, overthinking tends to mainly affect women. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema defines, in fact, overthinking as being " the propensity to rehash in a loop, in an obsessive way, a certain number of negative thoughts or feelings ". Here are a few tips to avoid falling into its chains ... Or manage an escape!
Overthinking: a torrent of negative thoughts and emotions
" Many of us are sometimes overwhelmed with anxieties, thoughts or feelings which, getting out of our control, drain our emotions and our energy ." Thus, in these terms the psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema describes a fit of overthinking: " torrents of preoccupations and negative emotions which undermine our daily life and our well-being ".
People prone to such ruminations then start tracking down every clue, thinking for hours… Result? The anguish only increases. Thoughts flow according to mood, without being able to find the answers.
Women are more prone to these forms of excessive ruminating than men. And they can do it on anything and everything, from their looks or their excess weight, to their family, their career or their health. " Escaping overthinking, believes Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, is like trying to free yourself from quicksand. To regain freedom, the first step is to loosen the grip of the thoughts that are suffocating you ."
Brain: why do some people fall more easily into overthinking?
Several research studies on the brain explain that some of us are more prone to rumination than others. This is how the American psychologist Richard Davidson deciphered, via what he calls "affective neuroscience", the multiple ways for the brain to process emotions. A medical imaging technology has thus made it possible to demonstrate " that negative emotions activate the right side of a part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex, more than the left side ". The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain allowing the regulation of emotions, that is to say the capacities to filter and control them.
A dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex would thus be at the origin of poor regulation of emotions, which can result in overthinking, or even a tendency to depression. In addition, two other parts of the brain could also be involved: the amygdala and the hippocampus, which are the sites of learning and memory of emotional situations. They sometimes turn out to be deteriorated in people prone to depression and rumination. And so, an overactive amygdala could for example lead to being "too sensitive", to too easily pick up all kinds of negative information.
Escape from its nets: freed, rescued
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema writes: " Breaking free from overthinking is not easy. It requires regaining self-confidence, letting go of uncontrollable negative thoughts ." A first step that is essential ... There are several solutions for this. Numerous studies carried out on depression, in particular, led by the American psychologist Peter Lewinsohn among others, have shown that "in order to be cured, it is essential to break the vicious circle of overthinking and passivity ".
Several escape routes allow you to free yourself from it: among them, that of taking a break. Give yourself a distraction. " Through a study, I found that it only takes an eight-minute moment of distraction to regain your good mood and break the circle of obsessive thoughts ," says Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. The means are diverse, from the practice of a physical activity, in particular those which require complete attention such as badminton or climbing, to manual activities, or even by investing in volunteering.
Some people take refuge in unhealthy activities, such as bulimia or alcohol abuse. It's a decoy: " If eating instantly gives an impression of relief, the boomerang effect is almost instantaneous. We blame ourselves for having given in to packets of cakes, we are depressed by our lack of willpower. The same goes for alcohol, ”writes Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. Who ultimately advises to hunt down happiness and live it.
Toward a new beginning
The moments of pleasure, the search for happiness, make it easier to overcome various sorrows, or bereavements. The ability to be happy also affects the quality of thinking. Positive emotions decrease the negative effects of chronic stress on our physiological system. A fascinating survey conducted by psychologists in Kentucky tends to show that moments of positive emotions even prolong the duration of life: these researchers have indeed shown, in nuns, that those who had known how to live positive emotions had lived on average ten years older!
The practice of meditation is common: nearly 40% of people interviewed by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema say they turn to prayer or meditation in order to break their confusion and overthinking. " Although our era has lost a certain sense of Christian values, many believe in a higher entity, in a supreme guide ," suggests the American psychologist.
Concentrative meditation, which consists of focusing intensely on the present moment, on a sentence or an image, as well as clairvoyant meditation, which advocates becoming intimately aware of each thought, image, idea, physical sensation as soon as they arrive , can both be a good way of unloading one's burden… We will also mention writing, or the fact of indulging in small daily pleasures, such as watching a comic film, walking around a pleasant site, or playing with small children ...
In addition, the help of a therapist or that of a judiciously chosen marriage counselor may, when necessary, make it possible to remedy a situation conducive to overthinking, such as, for example, conflicts in within the couple.
What if, finally, following the philosopher Maurice Bellet, we now simply had to " invent a new way of being in the world "? Capable, in all humility, " to be a new beginning "? Carpe Diem ! Let's enjoy the present moment .
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Is this the wrong piece to upload for today? The situation is serious; I am such a frivolous person. This will never do. It is focused on women, and for a holiday and all that. 🙇♀️
HAPPY 2022!!
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