OCD gray matter on PC......

[BraidedPony]

I wanted to Google..how to sanitize PC after brain splatter...but I'm afraid a search like that would draw attention.
Does this count as over thinking?

 

[Crossbreed]

Does this count as over thinking?

 

[Aspychata]

Think that people who overthink don't immediately catch it because we are busy with our fav hobby, overthinking, dreaming, more overthinking, it's like a SPAM brain, that's the way l would describe it. Like our brain sparks keep flying to the spam folder in the hopes that something will be motivating enough will pop out to hold our interest in mundane planet life.

 

[Aspychata]

I believe there are levels of 'over thinking'
One can be analytical and still function day to day.

It's when the thinking styles, patterns and habits become intense, irrational and intrusive.
I believe this is when many people experiencing OCD get stuck.
Lose the ability to function in those day to day chores and tasks.
Fears and worries can be amplified and woven into the original thought process.

I also believe a person experiencing OCD can rationalise the irrational
(to an extent)

When they have OCD, what is rational or irrational to them, they clearly lost that line a longtime ago. Because it's never rational to wash your hands 10 times or not? At the gym, l can rationalize 3 times due to bad stories l heard involving gyms.

So what l am referencing is who can call us on it if we are overthinking? Spectrum peers wouldn't bother with this.

 

[clg114]

I used to have a problem with overthinking. During my working career, I had to work on a lot of complex electronics. Thirty years ago or so, I had a habit looking for dark, deep problems first. I wasn't seeing the simple problems. Then I realized that all service manual trouble shooting guides started with the simple things first. So I started doing the same.

Now I know what my old service manager meant when he told me fifty years ago, "Keep it simple, stupid!"

 

[Peter Morrison]

I like to be thorough when thinking through a project of any kind. I don't believe that I overthink things, but I definitely consider details that other people don't bother caring about. I don't know why I do it, but it fits my Aspergers way of thinking. I also anticipate likelihoods of uncontrollable problems that may arise, then include remedies for possible mishaps.

 

[Crossbreed]

I like to be thorough when thinking through a project of any kind.

FYI, that is known as a priori thinking. I used to get frustrated at the "law of unintended consequences," but have improved my a posteriori game, over time.

 

[onlything]

I need to compartmentalise and divide things before I look at all of them. At times I get to a new place and my brain observes everything immediately. All patterns, textures, sounds, connections, everything. However, it is not strong enough to analyse everything in real time, so I get overwhelmed. For example, I travel to a new place and find myself on a multi-connection station - my brain looks at everything at the same time with the same importance. Trains, types of trains, colours of trains, people, colours of clothes, ethnicities, hair colours, paths they take, paths of trains, windows, doors, entrances, ways the light goes through them, ways the white light diffuses into rainbows, ways the monolight makes my eyes hurt, the one lamp that rapidly turns off and on, sounds of trains, of voices, luggages, bags, ages of people, plants, how the trains work, potential electrical circuits, patterns on walls and textures, materials, bricks, painted bricks, concrete walls, signs, how does it work, how does that work, what is it, that's new... It's overhelming. I have to close my eyes and tell myself that I look at paths now, or at people, or I get too overwhelmed to move. Or I need to shut off and watch only my feet or someone's back. I used to catch brother's jacket or mum's coat and just follow them as a child.

I can't help it but I can get used to it.

Concerning situations... It's not as pronounced. I will keep analysing issues to find ones to learn or improve from for the next time they happen or to make sure they don't happen again. I need my structure, patterns and solutions or I get crazy anxious, simple as that.

Other moments... It's just constant humming or flashes in the back of my head. If it's humming, then it works as it should. If it flashes, then something is wrong. Meditation helps to find the errors.

It doesn't really help in social or professional situations. People often say that I 'throw all of that information at them' but this is how my brain works - I have that constant information vomit onto my consciousness and by habit I tend to do the same to others. When I was younger I didn't realise it was an issue. I thought that everyone processed things like I did and so they should understand and analyse things if I could. The thing is, people simply cannot. They don't think in the same way.

My need for organisation comes from that - I need to organise thoughts, things and events or I get lost in the flow and don't know what to do anymore. That in turn causes panic or depression. One of the reasons for my rigid scheduling when I was younger, something I had to let go because it cut into what people around me planned. You can't exactly plan every hour of your life with a 100% precision anyway.

In general, I get stuck on details and have to force myself to see the bigger picture. Always something to work on, I suppose.

Not sure if it has anything to do with OCD or overanalysing... But it was the only thing I could think of when I read your post.

Can someone see things in a similar way?

 

[Aspychata]

@onlything
That was super interesting to read and you obviously could be a great period writer because you are so on top with descriptive details of places that people love to read yet most of us could never assimilate and assemble and put down in a coherent intriguing storyline.

Have you ever thought about why without structure then anxiety takes over? Have you tried to understand where this stems from? l probably fall in the exact reverse- l need chaos to feel slightly interested, a bigger puzzle to solve keeps my logical brain humming as you described it. In fact the more stuff thrown at me, and the more l have to process gives me the elated view l am microtasking. Have you ever tried looking at the multitude of new info as something rather wonderous and beautiful and a great thing to classify in your neurological folder? l love new sights, new sounds, new places because l find that it stimulates my imagination and l feel passionate about my life. Sadly age has caught up with me and my traveling days have ended.

When you think about past trips, do you think about landscapes, food and those things native to the place you traveled? Do you allow for those experiences?

I have lived in some beautiful places and l cherish all my memories. Even lived on a reservation along with many senic tourist destinations.

 

[onlything]

@onlything
That was super interesting to read and you obviously could be a great period writer because you are so on top with descriptive details of places that people love to read yet most of us could never assimilate and assemble and put down in a coherent intriguing storyline.

Have you ever thought about why without structure then anxiety takes over? Have you tried to understand where this stems from? l probably fall in the exact reverse- l need chaos to feel slightly interested, a bigger puzzle to solve keeps my logical brain humming as you described it. In fact the more stuff thrown at me, and the more l have to process gives me the elated view l am microtasking. Have you ever tried looking at the multitude of new info as something rather wonderous and beautiful and a great thing to classify in your neurological folder? l love new sights, new sounds, new places because l find that it stimulates my imagination and l feel passionate about my life. Sadly age has caught up with me and my traveling days have ended.

When you think about past trips, do you think about landscapes, food and those things native to the place you traveled? Do you allow for those experiences?

I have lived in some beautiful places and l cherish all my memories. Even lived on a reservation along with many senic tourist destinations.

Thank you. I used to write some years ago but in my native language only. The move stopped it from continuing, I became simply too busy - and cultural shock didn't help much either.

Oh, I never meant it in a too negative of a way. It can get truly overhelming, yes, but it's also quite a spectacle until you burn out. All of the little details, the new people and clothes, and objects - they're sweet if slightly bitter due to the their numbers. Each time you see a new place it feels like discovering your mind anew - it goes into that mode of rapid analysis where thousands of patterns and differences get perceived and catalogued in your brain. It isn't always good, of course, but it isn't always bad either. It just is and often it is too much to see in one day or even one week. It's tiring, that sudden rush of thought, as if your brain were on a roller coaster or as if you were falling, sometimes even making you nauseous just because there are so many things happening. I prefer to see new places as opportunities to learn now but I shied away from them as a child. They were fast and painful, and scary. Sometimes they still are, especially if I am unprepared for them mentally.

Why do I need structure? I have wondered about it myself. The only reason I could find was the sheer volume of possibilities. Every day, especially every day off, you have hours of time you can use in any way you can think of. You can go for a football match or read a book, or maybe attend a piano lesson you always wanted to, or maybe give your time in some voluntary work in an animal shelter, or go for a horse riding session, or visit your friends or family... Even the 15 minutes of your break you had at work today - it's time you'll never get back, something you can use in any way you want, for example read on sociology or Roman architecture or learn a few new Korean words.

Simply said, it's your life and you choose what to make of it. What would you imagine it to be if you were asked to? A straight line towards your goal? A twisted wire? A set of blocks in any direction you can climb on? A mountain? Whatever it is and wherevever you go, you'll never be able to experience and learn everything. You have to choose.

If I look at possibilities of every day, I see paths - so many paths that I have to organise them and choose one for that specific day only. If I don't do it, I find myself paralysed because the moment is now and I should choose what to do with it but so many things seem to be of the same importance and just as interesting as others and so I simply can't. And if I can't choose between things to do, I will do nothing - I won't be able to start any task and I will probably only stare at a wall for hours, unable to decide. It happened amny times before and this is where I start feeling like I'm stagnating, wasting my time, learning and experiencing nothing. From there it's easy to slip back into the depressed mindset.

I need things to learn and see to feel like I'm alive. I suppose you could say that learning new things is a hobby of mine. However, it's quite a balancing act. If I experience too much, I will get overwhelmed but if I experience too little, I will also get overwhelmed. How much it likes these games, that brain of mine, huh?

Memories... It allows me to remember some small but sweet things. Like the smell of cinammon in my cup and the swift flame of the candle on the table, the pinch of cold on my cheeks and melting snowflakes on my glove, itch where a spark landed on my skin from my brother's sparkler and vibrant green of a racket my father lighted to join other fireworks in the dark sky on New Year's Eve.

I can't ever remember words or stories told or full events, or the big picture of the family gathering but I remember the small details and they always seem the most precious. Just... The little fleeting things.

But look at me, getting all nostalgic for no reason. I suppose it's because you can already smell winter again in the air and it never fails to remind me of Christmas.

Concerning things from travels... From my last one I remember some of the raw materials of the neighbourhood the most. The touch of rough industrial brick on my fingers, droplets of rain in my hair, leaves strewn on the pavement, some still bright red and yellow, other already brown and twisted like a rope.

People? Mostly smells and textures, like my grandma's soft and smooth but wrinkled skin, always accompanied by the smell of simple white soap.

Sometimes the memories feel more like dreams than anything else... And if you think that 50% of your memories of the last year isn't true anymore, then maybe it's not that far off a feeling.

What are your impressions? How do you experience and remember your trips, people and things in your life?

 

[Aspychata]

Thanks for the answers, maybe l should look closer at options presented daily but l am on the spectrum and certain things call me everyday; computers, writing,music, crusing to see the beautiful view, good taste sensations, and beautiful spirtual individuals when l am lucky to be in their company. The possibilities of these alone keep my pea brain very content.

When l see my memories, they are always whole pictures of images, followed with happiness. The rating is on how perfect everything came together for a beautiful day. Many cruises by car around the beautiful island of Hawaii. Sedona and the beautiful feeling of contentment of scenery, people, and the vortex that draws people. Biking in the snow to Finish high school and the birch trees all lined up on either side of the road.

 

[tducey]

I do over analyze as well.

 

[Aspychata]

I do over analyze as well.

When you over-think stuff, do you catch yourself doing it or you just don't really care if you do it?

 

[Streetwise]

Not sure really what l experience but l will over-analyze like l have OCD as a cognitive switch to think it (subject) beyond what it was originally. It was worse when l was younger.

Also l have to constantly see every connection, every pattern, l have to know how the bigger picture comes together. Luckily this has dimished somewhat with age.

It never dawned on me that this could be a issue. Also l really want to break everything down to mathematical odds, like a bookie. I need to know the odds of something going either way.

Descartes is famous for his quote : l think therefore l am.

Hey, what are you blessed or cursed with in thinking patterns that you deny but it's all there everyday of your existence?

One good thing to do is start mindfulness, the feeling you get from overanalyzing is not healthy, I'm at the very end of over analysing it is not a good place you just need balance in how much you use your intellect and how much you use your physical body in not thinking about what you read or feel but something that exercises the legs specifically not reading while you are doing it

 

[onlything]

One good thing to do is start mindfulness, the feeling you get from overanalyzing is not healthy, I'm at the very end of over analysing it is not a good place you just need balance in how much you use your intellect and how much you use your physical body in not thinking about what you read or feel but something that exercises the legs specifically not reading while you are doing it

I agree. Mindfulness is an amazing tool. It makes everything so much clearer, calms down anxiety, gives confidence boost... So simple and so easy to consider unnecessary while being really useful.

 

[Aspychata]

Really don't think there is anything wrong with overthinking. l just don't like negative ruimination, and l have improved a lot in that area.

 

[onlything]

Really don't think there is anything wrong with overthinking. l just don't like negative ruimination, and l have improved a lot in that area.

The description of overthinking is 'thinking too much'. It seems to come with an automatic negative label. It's never good to do something 'too much', no? I observed a few issues with overthinking myself:

1. It reduces the energy you may need to analyse other, more important issues instead of that one that is simply pointless or useless at that specific point in time.
2. Overthinking (for me) seems to involve the part of brain thinking logically - and so in a way 'blocks' the other part of the brain that I need to thinking abstractly or creatively to solve problems in my designs or create.
3. It also reduces my general energy levels and makes me simply tired.
4. If it leads to negative ruminating, it can cause anxiety or a depression episode.
5. It can be stressful when there are too many thoughts in your head.
6. It can stop me from sleeping. Never good.
7. It can preoccupy me enough that I may seem callous or indifferent about problems of people I'm speaking to at the time.
8. What if it happens while driving?
9. It reduced my attention span for things my brain considers less interesting.
10. It can trap me in pointless loops of thoughts, especially concerning the past or the future.

There are good things to the analytical way my brain works but not looking at drawbacks would be counterproductive. And, of course, it may be completely different from how you experience it yourself.

 

[Streetwise]

The description of overthinking is 'thinking too much'. It seems to come with an automatic negative label. It's never good to do something 'too much', no? I observed a few issues with overthinking myself:

1. It reduces the energy you may need to analyse other, more important issues instead of that one that is simply pointless or useless at that specific point in time.
2. Overthinking (for me) seems to involve the part of brain thinking logically - and so in a way 'blocks' the other part of the brain that I need to thinking abstractly or creatively to solve problems in my designs or create.
3. It also reduces my general energy levels and makes me simply tired.
4. If it leads to negative ruminating, it can cause anxiety or a depression episode.
5. It can be stressful when there are too many thoughts in your head.
6. It can stop me from sleeping. Never good.
7. It can preoccupy me enough that I may seem callous or indifferent about problems of people I'm speaking to at the time.
8. What if it happens while driving?
9. It reduced my attention span for things my brain considers less interesting.
10. It can trap me in pointless loops of thoughts, especially concerning the past or the future.

There are good things to the analytical way my brain works but not looking at drawbacks would be counterproductive. And, of course, it may be completely different from how you experience it yourself.

interesting quote in the Bible from Ecclesiastes “much study Wearies the body ,looked up the Hebrew word for wearies and one of the terms is attrition which is Death ,another one is hardship ,another one is poverty, languish.