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Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

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Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#11
post #2

Seek professional help. You've identified a symptom, now the best thing you can do is get the right person to help you explore the cause and fix it. Whether that is a personal coach, or a licenced psychiatrist, I leave at your discretion. Just do it, it's a google search away from you.

I second this advice.

'Over thinking' and 'self destruction' sound like symptoms of depression/anxiety. If that is the case, you will eventually have to seek out a professional for diagnosis and treatment. Importantly, you can't rule out mental health issues without consulting a professional, especially when these problematic patterns of behaviour are present in so many areas of your life. If you do have a mental health issue then it's likely that you won't be able to fix the issues you're experiencing without first treating it, which is why consulting a professional is such an important step.

Independently of the existence of possible mental health issues, a psychologist will be able to equip you with tools (cbt etc.) to facilitate the changes that you want to make, and support you through them.

As a mid 20's white-male who has experienced a somewhat similar situation, I wish that I had sought out professional help sooner. If I had, repairing the damage caused by un-diagnosed major depressive disorder and social anxiety would have been a much easier task.

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#12
post #2

Seek professional help. You've identified a symptom, now the best thing you can do is get the right person to help you explore the cause and fix it. Whether that is a personal coach, or a licenced psychiatrist, I leave at your discretion. Just do it, it's a google search away from you.

He says the problem is too much introspection. Unless he's suicidal, booking time every week to engage in further introspection sounds like a bad idea. If I were the OP, I would tackle the problem by scheduling more time every week being active, and being social. Fortunately, it sounds like he has plenty of opportunities to do so, so it's just a matter of consciously spending less time alone. It's difficult to have a…

Modern evidence based therapies such as CBT are a way to avoid problematic repetitive thinking and too much introspection, and are a way to focus concentration on more positive thinking.

Current NHS figures suggest about 60% success rate, and that's on a bare-knuckle minimum provision model.

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#13
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He says the problem is too much introspection. Unless he's suicidal, booking time every week to engage in further introspection sounds like a bad idea. If I were the OP, I would tackle the problem by scheduling more time every week being active, and being social. Fortunately, it sounds like he has plenty of opportunities to do so, so it's just a matter of consciously spending less time alone. It's difficult to have a…

Modern evidence based therapies such as CBT are a way to avoid problematic repetitive thinking and too much introspection, and are a way to focus concentration on more positive thinking. Current NHS figures suggest about 60% success rate, and that's on a bare-knuckle minimum provision model.

Cheers. Just read the Wikipedia article on CBT, and it seems much more reasonable than what I assumed therapy would be like.

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#14
>I am a mid 20s white male who has been afforded immense privilege in life.

Stop right there.

You've been brainwashed by SJWs in the so-called 'educational' establishment into believing that you somehow have some magic 'white, male privilege'.

It's utter nonsense. They've been psychologically abusing you your whole life, harping on about 'racism' and 'sexism' and 'diversity' and 'tolerance', while condemning you for the color of your skin, your gender, and tricking you into buying their schtick.

Get redpilled. Read Vox Day's _SJWs Alway Lie_. Reject the SJW message of hate for white males!

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#16
Perhaps you like thinking and that's the only thing you presently want to do. If not agree, is that you think that you propely want something specific, but if that were the case these problems you refer to would not be appearing, your will would hush them away automatically and focus you on the external blockers.

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#18
I am a 30 year old, "first generation Mexican-American" who has had to work incredibly hard... from manual farm labor to today's creative tech/entrepreneurial world... for my current immense privileges in life. I have been analytical and overthinking; to the point of pausing and deciding daily whether the over-priced almond chai latte barista will mangle my full name or I should shorten and anglicize it.

I'm not outwardly extremely confident, but have been able to mostly get what I want. I've started a lot of things and messed up my fair share. It's past 2am, I'm in my workspace/studio jamming on personally fulfilling work with an amazing 40-week pregnant wife and four year old sleeping two floors above me.

What does self-destruct mean to you? Self loathing? I am genuinely wondering if lack of clarity, doubt and direction in your life are the real issues. If so, I'd like to say that every year since my 20s I've felt the same... and, I'm inwardly extremely confident about where I am in life. Time heals, maybe it's clarity through maturity. Perhaps a mentor would have been useful. If, like myself, you haven't had the fortune of one then seeking someone to talk to, a friend / colleague / professional, would be beneficial.

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#19
post #14

>I am a mid 20s white male who has been afforded immense privilege in life. Stop right there. You've been brainwashed by SJWs in the so-called 'educational' establishment into believing that you somehow have some magic 'white, male privilege'. It's utter nonsense. They've been psychologically abusing you your whole life, harping on about 'racism' and 'sexism' and 'diversity' and 'tolerance', while condemning you for…

To pretend privilege doesn't exist is silly. Being born in the U.S. is by definition being born in a position of privilege. Even if you're born in a bad neighborhood from a bad set of parents, still there are more opportunities than someone born in a slum of say ... Somalia.

People are not born equal. This is a fact. However, that does not mean that you should judge their choices by that birth. True equality is judging every person individually by their own set of choices, not by their birth.

Re: Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?

#20
post #14

>I am a mid 20s white male who has been afforded immense privilege in life. Stop right there. You've been brainwashed by SJWs in the so-called 'educational' establishment into believing that you somehow have some magic 'white, male privilege'. It's utter nonsense. They've been psychologically abusing you your whole life, harping on about 'racism' and 'sexism' and 'diversity' and 'tolerance', while condemning you for…

Also read up on Borderline Personality Disorder and codependency. After you become educated on these conditions, the way that "SJWs" act will suddenly make much more sense. The gaslighting, projection, self-loathing, hair-trigger emotions ("triggering"), malleable/distorted/missing sense of personal identity, and compulsive lying, which are all underlying issues caused by early childhood traumas and bad/neglectful/abusive parenting, are BPD hallmarks.

The overwhelming desire to help others, coupled with feeling responsible for the way that others feel at all times, are codependent traits.

The interplay between people with these conditions on the internet has turned into what most recognize as "SJW-ism" -- BPDs make ridiculous and unreasonable demands relating to their condition, and the codependents enable and validate them.

Congregating on the internet and using social media to attack and belittle both themselves and others is a way for people with BPD to cope. What they really need is dialectical behavior therapy, but it is extremely difficult to convince people with BPD to seek treatment, since the vast majority of them refuse to believe that there is anything wrong with them.

Some will have fleeting bouts of clarity, where they'll accept that they have issues and will consider and maybe even begin treatment, but most of them will stop attending sessions and cease their medication.

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