OVERTHINKING

[SteinitzGamgbit]

I don't know the answer to OP's question but I'm bumping this thread because I overthink a lot too.
I swear to God, nuclear fucking fission can start in my brain if I start overthinking.

 

[Chrysanthe]

When I do happen to overthink things, it usually involves social situations and relationships. Or trying to figure out how life works.

otherwise...

I can be extremely mentally lazy when it comes to topics I don't enjoy, and generally don't learn for the sake of learning, so I can come off as unintelligent to more hardcore Thinkers.

For example, I hate having to deal with money so whenever I hear financial advice I immediately dismiss it as useless and therefore a waste of my own thinking. I find using banks to be overly bothersome and complicated and so just carry around cash instead or use paypal.

Usually you can tell I don't know shit about or care about the topic when I begin trolling out of boredom.

 

[GIjade]

That's a really cool way to look at it. Overthinking can be symptomatic of people using "intellectization" as a defense mechanism. If they can anticipate the potential outcomes and reactionns, then they can have a better sense of whatever is going to happen next and feel more secure. It can be a control thing or a reaction to a fear of the unknown.

The defense mechanism for some people could be caused by previous life events that turned out badly because they didn't think enough. For instance, if someone was made a fool of in the past, because they were naive, and really didn't think at all, and then subsequently they found out that this had happened because they didn't think enough , they might start to "overthink" so that it couldn't happen again.

 

[á´…eparted]

I don't think this is function related. I do think there is a tendency for N-types to do this more frequently, and perhaps I-types as well, but that's about it.

This actually used to be a significant problem with me that affected multiple areas of my life, and lead to a lot of strife, wheel-spinning, and needless pain. I really started to snap out of it once I learned what Occam's Razor is, and tried applying that sort of mentality to my thought processes. In addition, making a point to take action even when I don't think I have fully thought it through yet. Experience tells that it will still work out.

This will always be a problem for me though, and pops up in areas where I'm particularly weak, or emotionally distraught.