Overthinking and worrying is common with highly sensitive people. You notice every detail and overthink what should be a simple decision, like where to go for lunch. You are prone to getting stuck in the rehashing of the “what-if” rut.
A common struggle for Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) is overthinking. “My brain won't stop,” or, “I can't turn it off!” or “I'm overanalyzing again” are common refrains.
Being someone who is highly sensitive, empathetic, and a deep thinker (what some call overthinker) means you are naturally inclined to be more anxious because you have a mind-heart-spirit connection that needs to be active, or questioning, or creating, or contributing.
Often overthinking can be the result of feeling strong emotions of fear, panic, anger, excessive worry, etc. Identifying and challenging these feelings and thoughts may be an effective place to start. Two of these effective skills are identifying emotions and checking the facts.
Overthinking - which can be defined as "uncontrollable thoughts in excess" - is something that plagues a lot of people who struggle with depression1, anxiety2 and other mental health issues.
Overthinking can be harmful to our emotional health, especially when it's directed at unwanted, spontaneous, negative thoughts, images, or memories. Fortunately, we can learn to curb this unhelpful way of thinking through greater self-awareness and the practice of mental disengagement.
Sights, sounds, smells, and other forms of sensory input may cause a heightened experience for HSPs. A sound that is barely perceptible to most people may be very noticeable, and possibly even painful, to an HSP. There's more to being a highly sensitive person than just being sensitive to stimuli.
HSP struggle to witness arguments, hear raised voices or see any form of physical violence because they are highly attuned to the emotions and energy of other people. They also tend to avoid conflict because they don't like the thought of upsetting others, or other people being upset with them.
It's thought that being a highly sensitive person can be a hereditary trait. But there can be other factors at play like your environment and your experiences as a child. “If you had childhood trauma, you may likely be a highly sensitive person,” states Dr. Childs.
"Studies show that ruminating on stressful events can, over time, lead to anxiety and depression," warns Dr. Fowler. "From a mental health standpoint, anxiety can affect your ability to cope with everyday stressors, and depression results in sadness, loneliness and feelings of emptiness."
People with avoidant personality disorder are very sensitive to anything critical, disapproving, or mocking because they constantly think about being criticized or rejected by others. They are vigilant for any sign of a negative response to them.
Your inherent empathy, combined with your tendency to have strong emotions, makes you prone to feeling overwhelmed sooner. You also feel more intensely than people without the trait of High Sensitivity, which can also lead to feeling burned out.
Many of the characteristics of Myers and Briggs' INFJ personality type can also describe a highly sensitive person (HSP). Whether you are an INFJ, an HSP or both, it's important to understand who you are and what you need to be happy.
Being a highly sensitive person means you are more likely to feel things deeply, whether those things are positive or negative. While the highs can be joyous, the lows can present challenges that can affect your stress levels, relationships, and ability to cope.
Being an HSP can be tough sometimes because the world can feel really loud, really intense, and just… really a lot. It's like the volume's turned up to max all the time. But don't worry, you're not alone.
They're more empathic: Sensitive in general, HSPs are particularly perceptive to emotions. They feel emotions more acutely, both for themselves and on the behalf of others, and notice more emotional subtleties. Not surprisingly, they are more attentive and show more concern for others.
Sensitive people have a higher likelihood of having low self-esteem. As a highly sensitive person, you may have learned to hide the depth of your emotions or your propensity to become overwhelmed. You may be trying to be “normal” or fit in with “risk-takers,” a temperament trait highly prized in our society.
The brains of sensitive people can grow and change in ways that may allow for more creative associations. Sensory intelligence. Sensory intelligence means taking in more information from your environment and making good decisions based on that information—a defining characteristic of highly sensitive people.
The three subtypes of highly sensitive people include Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and Ease of Excitation (EOE). Before we explain what each of these means, it's important to note that HSPs can fit into more than one subtype, each subtype has its own characteristics.
It is interesting to note that all five of these neurological differences—HSP, ADHD, autism, SPD, and synesthesia—often imply some version of “melting down” emotionally. As many studies suggest, adult tantrums, quick-appearing migraines, or outbursts of anger are often the result of sensory overload.
Many good qualities come with being a highly sensitive person. And as it turns out, those who identify as highly sensitive are not rare at all – they make up about 15-20 percent of the population!
The good news is that you weren't born an overthinker. Overthinking is the result of one fact of human existence: we all have patterns to our behavior. These patterns, good and bad, develop over time based on life experiences. And just as patterns are learned, they can also be unlearned.
Overthinking usually falls into two categories: ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. If you're struggling with overthinking, you may feel “stuck” or unable to take any action at all. It can be hard to get the thoughts out of your mind or concentrate on anything else.
Hyper-Rationality is a trauma response and coping strategy. Overthinking, over-analyzing, and over-rationalizing are coping strategies that we learned early on to help us make sense of an unpredictable environment that at some point made us feel unsafe.