When we think too much.

Thought can help us to understand, to know, to reflect, to evaluate, to make decisions. In Western culture, rational thought is vaunted as the way to get to the truth. Descartes has separated the material from the rational and from there reason became the indispensable and only path to knowledge. "I think therefore I am" conveys the level of importance attached to thought in the Western world.

For Carl Jung, thought is one of the 4 functions of the psyche along with Feeling, Intuition, and Sensation. They are means through which consciousness approaches to experience. For Jung « sensation tells us that something exists, thought tells us what it is, feeling tells us whether it is pleasant or not, and intuition tells us where it comes from and where it goes».

Thought is one of those functions, and it is what allows us to establish similarities and differences between what we perceive, allows us to classify and generalize. It is the resource to abstract and builds theories. However, it is not the only function. And many times, if we have this function developed in a predominant way, we can cancel or make the others invisible.

Thought, when it takes on total prominence, can go into endless circles, which instead of helping us decide, hinders the process. Overthinking must be conceived as a unilateral position of consciousness. That is an amplification of one aspect over others. 

Overthinking cancels the possibility of attending to our environment, to bodily needs; it can isolate us in relation to our ties and lead to procrastination, that is, to delay in action. Rational thought, which deals with analyzing situations, can always find reasons to validate or invalidate decisions, in a back and forth between pros and cons can leave the person immobile.

Sometimes, intuition allows us to decide something without the need to do an exhaustive analysis. It's that knowledge that you don't know how you know, but you know, and paying attention to it is important at certain times. 

Excessive thinking usually involves repetition, rumination, or intrusive and recurrent thoughts. These circuits, very typical of obsessive symptoms, usually cause great mental and emotional fatigue, which can lead to depression and which, instead of facilitating decisions, annuls them. Always finding an obstacle for each alternative.

Cutting with these circuits may require the intervention of other tools. Meditation and breathing exercises, or activities that enhance contact with the present, help give space to the body and sensations, helping to stop the barrage of thoughts. All activities in which the body and movement participate also help in this balance.

Being in natural environments, limiting occupations, doing creative activities (especially those that do not use the word, such as painting, for example) and leisure activities, and sharing quality time with loved ones, are some ways to counteract overthinking circuits. When these changes cannot be made voluntarily, consultation with a professional is important.

 

Thank You

 

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