Am I An
Overthinker?

Do you ever replay a conversation from 2014 in your head right before falling asleep? Or maybe you draft five different versions of a simple "Sounds good!" text message? If so, you might be suffering from chronic overthinking.

The Science of Overthinking

Overthinking isn't just "thinking a lot." Psychologically, it's a form of mental rumination where your brain gets stuck in a loop of negative scenarios or hypothetical future problems. It's a common trait among high-achievers, but it can severely drain your social battery and lead to burnout.

How do you know if you're doing it?

• You read into punctuation (e.g., "Why did they use a period instead of an exclamation mark?").
• You rehearse small talk before running into an acquaintance.
• You assume people are mad at you if they take longer than an hour to reply.

The first step to managing the noise in your head is to identify your exact overthinking archetype.