Post-Social Replay and Overthinking Conversations
Do you replay conversations in your head long after they’re over? Maybe you find yourself analyzing what you said, how it sounded, or what someone might think of you. Being misperceived can be worrisome in particular contexts, but if you experience this kind of thought pattern regularly, you may benefit from CBT therapy.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at how our thoughts influence our behaviour and works to increase resilience to anxieties, including excessively overthinking what was said in a social situation. Unfortunately, the more we worry about how others see us, the more anxious or guarded we may appear, which can reinforce the very fears we’re trying to avoid. If you’d like to escape the cycle of negative thought patterns and overthinking social situations, CBT therapy may be right for you.
What is CBT therapy?
CBT therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are closely connected and influence one another.
For example, if I think bees are scary, I may focus on only remembering scary stimuli about bees such as their stinger. As a result, I will begin to believe they are scary and feel fear around them. This will ultimately impact my behaviour, in that I may scream or run away from bees whenever I see them in real life. CBT therapy helps individuals examine these thought patterns, challenge unrealistic beliefs, and replace them with more balanced perspectives. This is the ultimate goal of CBT therapy: to look at what evidence you have for anxiety and replace anxious thoughts with more realistic ones in order to change behaviour.
CBT therapy applies to:
Rumination (repeatedly dwelling on negative thoughts or situations)
Catastrophizing (assuming the worst possible outcome)
Significant negative automatic thoughts
How CBT Therapy Helps with Post-social Replay & Overthinking
CBT therapy is an evidence-based approach that teaches you to think about the exact same situation from a different perspective and helps with learning how to catch your negative thoughts before they influence your behaviour.
Rather than feeling shame or guilt about overthinking, which can lead to avoiding social situations, CBT helps you understand what’s driving those thoughts that impact your behaviour and replace them with more grounded, realistic ones, leading to more comfortability and less overthinking when it comes to conversations.
You Can Stop Overthinking
Overthinking doesn’t mean you did something wrong, it usually means your mind is trying to protect you. Rather than continuously ruminating and catastrophizing, CBT therapy helps you catch your automatic negative thoughts and replace them with realistic, positive ones.
If you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, contact us to book a free 15-minute consultation today. We’re here to help you learn how to build healthier ways to cope with excessive post-social replay.
