Word Play: reflecting on ”overthinking”

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, April 21st. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. You know that feeling of mental exhaustion from going over something in your mind over and over again? We’re not the first ones to suffer from overthinking. Well it’s time now for Word Play with George Grant.

GEORGE GRANT, COMMENTATOR: Google it and you’ll quickly discover that overthinking has become a commonplace label for what was once called worry or anxiousness. It is described as obsessive ruminating, worst-case-scenarioizing, or pathological catastrophizing.

The Cleveland Clinic calls overthinking “an unhealthy habit that typically causes more stress by focusing on the negative, dwelling on the past, and worrying about the future. It’s almost like a broken record of negativity that replays repeatedly in your head. For example, you may start worrying about a specific situation at work, which leads to worrying about money, which leads to worrying about losing your job. Overthinking can be” debilitating, “a symptom of stress, anxiety or depression.”

Not surprisingly, there is plentiful advice online offering “five science-backed ways to arrest overthinking,” “six therapy skills to alleviate overthinking, “seven strategies to stop overthinking,” or “eight methodologies for overcoming overthinking.”

Overthinking is a common bugaboo for sportsmen: baseball, basketball, or football players fearing the loss of intuitive spontaneity. Artists, musicians, writers, entrepreneurs, politicians, and pundits are often encouraged to follow their gut instincts rather than allowing their decision-making to be stymied by overthinking.

Overthinking is actually an old Anglo-Saxon term. It was used as early as the 9th century by Werferth, the Bishop of Worcester, and the memorably named scholar-monk, Werwulf. King Alfred had asked the two men to translate the Dialogues of Gregory the Great. In the same way we might use oversight to mean “looking things over,” they used overthinking to mean “thinking things over.”

Overthinking only came to mean “thinking too much about things” in the 17th century. George Wither used it in a poem in 1628, “So long the solitary nights did last / That I had leisure my accounts to cast / And think upon, and overthink those things / Which darknesse, lonelinesse, and sorrow brings.” I know, I know. There’s a reason you’ve never heard this verse before. It’s not exactly well-crafted poetry.

During the English Civil War, Wither an ardent Cromwellian and a horse guard captain for the parliamentary forces was captured by the king’s army. Sir John Denham, a royalist Anglo-Irish poet, pled with Charles I to spare Wither’s life, despite his high crimes and misdemeanors. His reasoning was self-serving. He reasoned that, “Whilest Wither lived” Denham “should not be the worst poet in England.” Apparently, it was a petition that required no overthinking. Laughing, the king granted the prisoner the clemency to continue writing bad verse.

I’m George Grant.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.