How an Overthinker can Prevent Unnecessary Conflict in their Relationships.
I have what some might refer to as an overactive imagination.
As a kid, I would fill black and white marble composition books with made-up stories and scenarios that would dance through my head. Tales of faraway creatures and lands, and everyday characters living the kind of life I wished I was living. As a teenager, I would put pen to paper and fantasize about the life I might actually live as an adult: the places I would visit, the people I would meet, the conversations we would have.
This overactive imagination — this innate ability to create stories and explore endless possibilities — has served me well in life. Mostly.
Telling stories is my job. And while these days I tend to stick to honest, real-life, sometimes uncomfortable ones, both past and present, that hasn’t stopped my brain from continuing to create made-up stories in my mind.
Sometimes it’s simply my overactive imagination making an unexpected, innocent appearance. Other times, it’s my anxiety — my desperate, relentless need to control or explain or overthink a situation — finding a way to sabotage me.
And this is especially true when it comes to relationships.
In my daily life, at my job, with friends and family, I consider myself a grounded, rational person. I tend to be the voice of reason, the person people come to when they need a compassionate ear and sound advice.
But in romantic relationships? I can spin a tale so complex that a minor interaction becomes a triple-alarm fire, at least in my head. A small disagreement that should’ve been chalked up to the natural, occupational hazard of creating a life with someone turns into a 35-minute rant to my therapist.
My partner is quiet or withdrawn? He’s absolutely mad at me. My partner disagrees with my opinion? We’re obviously too different to be together. My partner doesn’t want to go with me to an event or activity? He is clearly planning on leaving me.
Down the overly animated rabbit hole I go…
Truthfully, I used to be a lot worse when it came to concocting these fatalistic stories and letting my overthinking…
0 Comments