41 Things Basically Everyone Does But Keeps To Themselves

Imaginary arguments were a pretty popular answer in both threads. Indeed, who hasn't overthunk a conversation after saying goodbye or laid in bed at 3 AM in the morning coming up with the perfect comeback they could've used that day? Psychologists actually call this 'rumination.'

It's when we repeat entire conversations in our head and sometimes can't stop thinking about them. Why do we ruminate? These are some of the possible reasons:

1. It's a way to control anxiety;
2. It's how we self-soothe;
3. It's how we prepare for similar conversations in the future.

If a situation or a conversation caused us a lot of stress and anxiety, we're more likely to keep repeating it in our heads. A psychologist and therapeutic life coach in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Natalie Bernstein explains that we ruminate to prepare for similar experiences in the future.

"Rumination can develop as a result of traumatic experiences or the false belief that repeatedly thinking about this one thing can help solve the problem. There's an idea that forcing ourselves to think about a situation will lead to a solution," she says.

Rumination in itself isn't that bad and most people do it. However, if it starts causing too much anxiety or starts veering into obsessive overthinking, it might be a sign of something more serious. Nevertheless, there are some strategies we can use to stop ruminating so much.

1. Ground yourself in the present moment;
2. Allow yourself to make mistakes and be wrong;
3. Focus on something else in the moment: call a friend, listen to some music or a podcast;
4. Put your worries in writing;
5. Adjust your perspective and ask yourself, "Will it matter an hour? 3 hours? A day from now?”
6. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses.