ARE YOU AN OVERTHINKER? Thinking Too Much is a Disease

Lai Cheng July 22, 2026 0 Comments

Lying in bed for hours at night replaying conversations in your head? Wondering if you said the right thing at that important meeting? Analysing every tiny detail of a situation you can’t control? Taking ages to make decisions because you’re analysing all the possible outcomes?

Overthinking is a big waste of time and energy. It is said that only about 2% of 1% of our thoughts deserve to be taken seriously. “Overthinking often doesn’t lead anywhere, because the overthinker gets trapped in the cycle of analysing, rejecting, and reconsidering different possibilities. It’s like scratching an itch that just won’t go away,” says Nick Trenton, author of the book, Stop Overthinking.

“Overthinking ruins you. Ruins the situation, twists things around, makes you worry, and just makes everything much worse than it actually is”, goes a quote. And worry often gives a small thing a big shadow, a Swedish proverb says.

It’s actually unhealthy to think about things too much. It increases your chances of depression, disrupts your sleep and causes fatigue. The primary cause of all these is never the situation but your thoughts about it.

Being lost in muddled thoughts can cause a fog which prevents us from thinking clearly. This is why Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky cautioned that to think too much is a disease. To borrow a saying, we drink the poison our minds pour for us and wonder why we feel sick.

The more you stay in your head, the less you get ahead. Overthinking can lead to worrying, which leads to anxiety. Anxiety can at times be crippling, leave people frozen and unable to act.

When you overthink, you create problems that weren’t even there, so don’t dwell on your thoughts unnecessarily. You can’t control everything, just let things be. Trust yourself and make a decision; you cannot think your way into perfection, just take action.

A crowded mind leaves no space for a peaceful heart. Create a space for calm and reflection, and you’ll be able to think clearer, act more appropriately and live happier.