Overthinking Is A Trauma Response

Hyper-Rationality is a trauma response and coping strategy.

Overthinking, over-analyzing, and over-rationalizing are coping strategies that we learned early on to help us make sense of an unpredictable environment that at some point made us feel unsafe.

By applying an analytical perspective, we are subconsciously attempting to not only define but also predict reality in an effort to cultivate a false sense of safety and security.

Overthinking is also an avoidance strategy developed in response to emotional expressions not being welcomed in our environment. We also retreat to the safety of our rational minds to avoid the emotional burdens that become too great to carry.

While on the surface, hyper-rationality might look like intelligence, and in the short-term, it might serve us to avoid emotional overwhelm, the long-term consequences of disconnection from our emotional responses perpetuate a chronic state of anxiety, isolation, and depression. Survival strategies are like training wheels; they might have served us at some point to help us keep moving forward but they only impede progress when relied upon for too long. . . .

Originally published at https://anahitaanais.com/ on May 21, 2021.