What Does it Mean to Have an Overactive Mind?
Hi brain, can you please shut up now
This article is part of the column Overthinking Everything at She Explores Life.
Have you ever stepped out of the shower and not been able to remember if you washed your hair? Or walked into a room and questioned why you went there at all? Odds are you answered yes to one or both of those questions. They say this happens when our brain kicks into cruise control. During our more monotonous routines, our consciousness zones out and our mind wanders. For me, however, I tend to think the cause is a bit more complicated. It’s not so much a lack of thought that numbs my present sense. Really, it’s the opposite — the result of too many thoughts taking place all at once in my overactive mind.
At times it feels like my brain is speeding down a highway, shifting gears every few seconds. Thoughts race in and out so quickly that I find myself multitasking against my will. I start doing one thing, then become distracted by something else entirely to the point that I forget what I was doing in the first place. Some days I’m energized, other days I’m preoccupied. And then there are days when the news headlines and images from social media cast a heavy cloud over my mind, bringing with them a sense of despondence that at times feels inescapable.
