The Disease called Overthinking — do you suffer from it? Dr Suhail Anwar

Overthinking, in essence, is an inability to relax mentally. It is a constant engagement with the inner voice in one’s head and an incessant need to plan the future meticulously.

Overthinking is opposite to the concept of “staying in the moment”. Over-thinkers are in constant dialogue with the inner voice in the head. The voice that draws upon your experiences from the past and fears for the future. This little “advisor” in your head tells you to regret your past mistakes, lament your failures and is fearful of what could possibly go wrong in future. The present moment does not exist for over-thinkers- life is lived in the past or future.

Amongst the myriad of causes of this affliction, scarcity of faith and lack of gratitude for ones blessings, are right at the top of the list. A breath of fresh air, two legs to stand on, being bestowed with the gift of vision, having clean water to drink, are few of the many things to be grateful for. To have genuine faith in the idea “everything happens for a reason” helps you relinquish control. It takes away the desire to manipulate and control life, pulling your attention away from the future and helping divert it to the present moment. The, “it is what it is”, cliche has a lot more to it than merely a combination of a few letters and words.

Stay in the present, don’t overthink and over complicate. Moaning when you are stuck in traffic, complaining about the dreadful weather, regretting past mistakes, worrying about future events; just let it go. Happiness lies in the present moment — this second is the only real time we have. Stay with it………