<ul><li>It increases your chances of mental illness. And as your mental health declines, your tendency to ruminate increases.</li><li>It interferes with problem-solving. It will cause you to dwell on the problem rather than look for solutions.</li><li>It disturbs your sleep. You'll be more likely to toss and turn for hours before you drift off.</li></ul>

Dangers of being an overthinker

Problem Solving

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Of course, everyone overthinks a situation occasionally. But if you're a true overthinker, you'll struggle to quiet the constant barrage of thoughts.
Overthinking is more than just a nuisance--studies show thinking too much can take a serious toll on your well-being.
Here are the three dangers of being an overthinker:
1. It increases your chances of mental illness. 
A 2013 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23713497">study</a> published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology reports dwelling on your shortcomings, mistakes, and problems increases your risk of mental health problems.
And rumination can set you up for a vicious cycle that is hard to break. Ruminating wreaks havoc on your mental health. As your mental health declines, your tendency to ruminate increases.
2. It interferes with problem-solving. 
<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x">Research</a> shows overthinkers believe they're helping themselves by rehashing their problems in their heads. But studies show analysis paralysis is real.
Overanalyzing everything interferes with problem-solving. It will cause you to dwell on the problem rather than look for solutions.
Even simple decisions, like choosing what to wear to an interview or deciding where to go on vacation, can feel like a life-or-death decision when you're an overthinker. Ironically, all that thinking won't help you make a better choice.
3. It disturbs your sleep. 
If you're an overthinker, you likely already know you can't sleep when your mind won't shut off.
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886902001204">Studies</a> confirm this, finding that rumination and worry lead to <a href="https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/7-reasons-productive-people-go-to-bed-early.html">fewer hours of sleep</a>. You'll be more likely to toss and turn for hours before you drift off.
But sleeping later may not help, because overthinking also impairs the quality of your sleep. You'll be less likely to fall into a deep slumber after you've been thinking about the same thing over and over again.
How to stop overthinking everything 
Whether you've put off buying a house for 10 years because you can't find the perfect one, or you struggle to be productive because each choice you make takes up too much of your time, overthinking can drag you down.
But the good news is, you don't have to be an overthinker forever. You can take <a href="https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/6-ways-to-stop-overthinking-everything.html">steps to stop overthinking everything</a>. Using new strategies and developing new skills can help you make good choices in a timely manner with less distress.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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Of course, everyone overthinks a situation occasionally. But if you're a true overthinker, you'll struggle to quiet the constant barrage of thoughts. Overthinking is more than just a nuisance--studies show thinking too much can take a serious toll on your well-being. Here are the three dangers of being an overthinker: 1.

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