How to Tell the Difference Between Being Self-Aware and Overthinking
Lindsay Knake
| 3 min read
Lindsay Knake is a brand journalist for Blue Cross B...
Key Takeaways
- Self-awareness is about understanding and acknowledging your emotions and thoughts, but overthinking is a habit of focusing on negative thoughts or emotions, often without resolution or progress.
- Self-awareness is a key part of being emotionally intelligent and can help with healthy relationships and mood and mental health, but overthinking can be a symptom of stress, anxiety, depression or OCD.
- Practicing self-compassion, journaling, setting a time limit for worrying, meditation and mindfulness, therapy, exercise and a healthy diet can help reduce overthinking and increase self-awareness.
If you are dealing with difficult emotions, it can be tough to know when self-awareness turns into overthinking.
While self-awareness is important for healthy relationships and mental health, rumination can be a sign of anxiety and depression. Learn more about self-awareness and overthinking and how to manage rumination.
What is self-awareness?
Self-awareness is defined as self-focused attention or knowledge, according to the American Psychological Association. It’s being in tune with your emotions and taking the time to understand how you feel and where those feelings may come from.
This process involves noticing a physical sensation and/or a thought and when it’s arising, especially as an early signal of a painful or difficult feeling and responding rather than reacting to them. Higher self-awareness is an important part of being emotionally intelligent, according to Harvard Health. This can help with healthy relationships and your mood and mental health.
Many people believe they are more self-aware and in touch with their emotions than they are, per Harvard Health. Being aware of your strong emotions doesn’t always mean you know the deeper roots of your feelings.
What is overthinking?
Overthinking is a habit of focusing on negative thoughts or emotions, considering the past or worrying about the future, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It may or may not involve coming up with a solution or involve continuing to ruminate on a solution or plan without moving forward. Overthinking can look like:
- Getting caught in a loop without resolution
- Catastrophizing, or thinking of worst-case scenarios
- Difficulty making decisions
- Looking for reassurance from other people
Overthinking can be a symptom of stress, anxiety, depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
While rumination can feel helpful for people experiencing stress and anxiety, it isn’t a positive coping strategy.
How can I be self-aware without overthinking?
Being self-aware requires deep thought, but the line between self-awareness and overthinking can be a blurry one. If you think repeatedly about the same topic without coming to a satisfying resolution, this could be a sign you are overthinking rather than increasing your self-awareness.
A helpful practice for self-awareness, per Harvard Health, involves:
- Sitting quietly by yourself
- Thinking of a problem, emotion or stressor that is difficult but not overwhelming
- Noticing where you feel the emotion in your body
- Accepting whatever you feel without judgment
Ways to reduce overthinking and work on turning it into self-awareness include:
- Practicing self-compassion
- Writing in a journal to get the thoughts and emotions out of your mind and body
- Setting a limited period, such as 20 minutes for worrying and ruminating, and then stop
- Meditation and mindfulness practices
- Therapy with a mental health professional; cognitive behavioral therapy can help
- Regular exercise, which can improve mood and mental health
- Eating a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains
- Limiting or avoid alcohol, which can increase feelings of anxiety
If you notice overthinking and worrying for weeks or months or if your overthinking starts to interfere with your daily life, it could be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder or OCD. Talk to your primary care provider about a mental health screening and treatment.
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