Everyone has been in this position at some point in their lives. What is the position, you may ask? It’s called overthinking, and it occurs when your brain considers all the various notions of why, how, or what the outcome of a scenario may be. We’ve all done it at least once in our lives, and for many of us, it’s daily. This can be dangerous since we may be thinking of a negative reason for a situation that isn’t necessarily true, but we don’t know that. This has the potential to significantly alter a person’s self-esteem. For example, if they see a group or an individual laughing close by, they may believe that the group or person is laughing at them. This style of thinking may completely immerse a person in the opinions of others, which are, once again, not necessarily true. One way to stop overthinking is to simply stop thinking. I know how crazy that sounds, but it can work. Another way to stop overthinking is to fill your head with different types of thoughts. Don’t think about it over and over again. Think about a homework assignment that’s coming up instead. Something else that can assist you is to listen to music (to tune out the people around you). Here’s a crucial reminder: most of the time, people are so preoccupied with their own thoughts and surroundings that they won’t notice you, and if they are laughing around you, it’s most likely not because of what you’re doing. Overthinking is very common with high schoolers (and just teenagers in general). Our brains are similar to fireworks – you set one thing off and it explodes.
