Men and the Hidden Costs of Overthinking

Published October 22, 2024

“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

— Mark Twain

The legendary Mark Twain captured how human minds travel through time to confront future fears or relive past pain—a process at the heart of overthinking.

Overthinking comes in hot or creeps up cold to sabotage self-worth and sow self-doubt. One minute, you’re perusing a lunch menu; the next, you’ve landed in a ditch of indecision. On other days, your mind’s a leashed puppy with the zoomies, yanking you from one insecurity to the next.

In academic circles, overthinking is labeled “repetitive negative thinking.” It's thinking that's overstayed its welcome and outlived its usefulness, capturing the unwanted, unproductive, and unrelenting cognitive activity of rumination and worry. Rumination scholar Susan Nolen-Hoeksema framed it this way: worried thoughts focus on the unclear future; ruminative ones passively dwell on past events or perceived letdowns.

Worrying (“What if?”) views events as controllable, intensifying anxiety. Rumination (“Why?”) sees events as uncontrollable, dragging you deeper into depression. Worriers prep for threats; ruminators seek insight. Yet these are not distinct processes: they overlap and are transdiagnostic, meaning they show up across many mental health issues in the form of a habit or trait.