«overthinking: Literally, to think too much. American researcher in psychology, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema has described this evil a lot, and the means to remedy it: she relates them in her work entitled Why do women take the lead? Because, in fact, overthinking tends to mainly affect women. Susan Nolen-Hoesksema defines, in fact, overthinking as being “the propensity to obsessively rehash a certain number of negative thoughts or feelings“. Here are a few tips to avoid falling into its chains … Or managing to escape its nets!

«Many of us are sometimes overwhelmed with anxieties, thoughts or feelings which, out of our control, drain our emotions and our energy.. ” It is thus, in these terms that the psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema describes a fit of overthinking: “dtorrents of concerns and negative emotions that undermine our daily life and 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 their moods, without them 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, says Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, is like trying to get out of quicksand. To regain freedom, the first step is to loosen the grip of the thoughts that are suffocating you.. “

Several research studies on the brain explain that some (or 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. Medical imaging technology has thus made it possible to demonstrate “that negative emotions activated 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.

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema writes: “Freeing yourself from overthinking is not easy. It requires regaining self-confidence, detaching yourself from uncontrollable negative thoughts. ” A first step that is essential … There are several solutions for this. Numerous studies carried out on depression, in particular, led among others by the American psychologist Peter Lewinsohn, have shown that “to heal, it is essential to break the vicious circle of overthinking and passivity«. 

Several tracks 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 instant of distraction of eight minutes 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 those of manual activities, or even by an investment in volunteering.

Some people take refuge from unhealthy activities, such as bulimia or alcohol abuse. It’s a decoy: “While eating instantly feels relieved, 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 …

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 carried out 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 in 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 times have lost some sense of Christian values, many believe in a Higher Entity, a Supreme Leader“, Suggests the American psychologist.

Concentrative meditation, which consists of concentrating 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 to unload one’s burden … We will mention, again, writing, or the fact of indulging in small daily pleasures, such as watching a comic film, walking in 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, within the couple.

And if, finally, following the philosopher Maurice Bellet, we now simply needed “invent a new way of being in the world“? Capable, in all humility, “to be a new beginning“? Carpe Diem ! Let’s take advantage of the present moment …