7 Signs of Overthinking for People Who Fear Making Mistakes

If you feel like your brain is always running in a way that feels exhausting, overthinking might be the cause! And if you’re not sure if overthinking is something you’re struggling with, there are 7 signs of overthinking all the time in my therapy practice. Once you know the signs, you’ll be able to understand where your overthinking comes from and get the support you actually need.

The Top 7 Signs of Overthinking I See as a Licensed Therapist

1.  Your thoughts seem to loop over and over again. 

The fancy term for this is rumination. These thoughts tend to be focused on past events or social interactions you didn’t feel great about. But these thoughts repeat over and over and over while your heart rate climbs, your palms get sweaty, and you stop breathing normally.

2. Assuming the worst-case scenario will always happen. 

This is also referred to as catastrophizing, but it feels like you’re volunteering to write the next Final Destination movie. When you’re catastrophizing, positive thoughts feel impossible to generate and fear dominates your brain. The worst part though, is that you feel certain that the worst-case scenario is going to happen no matter what you do.

3. Not being able to commit to a decision. 

This might look like making a decision in one moment, only to second-guess it, then triple-guess it, and so on and so forth. Before you know it, you’ve gone back and forth on your decision over fifty times and you’re exhausted. 

4. Assuming you can’t be trusted to make the right decision. 

Maybe you think other people simply know better than you, or maybe you’ve been criticized for decisions you’ve made in the past. Either way, you don’t see yourself as being capable of choosing the right thing. 

5. Making decisions based on what you think other people will approve of. 

And not only are you focused on what other people will approve of, but you’re focused on preventing people from leaving you behind. Behind your overthinking may be the fear that other people won’t like you, accept you, or love you if you make a decision they wouldn’t have made for themselves.  

6. Not being able to tell the difference between a difficult experience and a mistake. 

In other words, you assume that everything is your fault. In reality though, sometimes a situation simply sucks and there’s nothing anyone could have done to make it go differently. But when overthinking is your norm, you’re more likely to go into Performance Review Mode to criticize yourself for perceived faults. 

7. Feeling like your mind is a prison you can’t break out of.

No matter how hard you try, you feel stuck. Meanwhile, your brain feels like it’s on a hamster wheel that truly never stops. And you’ve tried so many things! But no matter what it seems like overthinking always wins out in the end. 

“What do I do if I can’t stop overthinking?”

Here are two options that you truly can’t go wrong with!

Option 1: Check out this post on How to Stop Overthinking for some practical tips you can start using today. I’d recommend you either bookmark it, or take a screenshot some of the tips and make it your new phone wallpaper.

Option 2: If you live in Colorado or Oregon and are curious about therapy, you can schedule a no-pressure consultation call with me. This gives us a chance to chat and to see if it makes sense for us to move forward with booking a full appointment.

If you live in another state or country, you’ll need to search for a therapist who’s licensed to practice where you currently live.

Hey there! I’m Halle, an anxiety therapist based in Longmont, Colorado.

But I’m actually licensed to practice in both Colorado and Oregon! If you’re ready to stop overthinking, I’d be so stoked to support you.