Youtube: PsyCurious by Gari

Have you ever caught yourself spiraling through the same thought over and over again, wondering if you’re losing your mind? What if I told you that Sigman Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, believed your overthinking habit might actually be your brain’s way of protecting you? Today, we’re diving deep into Freud’s unexpected take on overthinking. And trust me, by the end of this video, you’ll never look at your racing thoughts the same way again. We live in a world that constantly tells us to stop overthinking, to just let go and be present. But here’s the thing Freud discovered over a century ago that modern psychology is just catching up to. Your overthinking brain isn’t broken. It’s brilliant. And I’m about to show you exactly why that restless mind of yours might be your greatest asset. Picture this scenario. You send a text to someone you care about and they don’t respond for hours. Your mind immediately starts spinning. Did I say something wrong? Are they ignoring me? Maybe they’re hurt. Or worse, maybe they’re done with me entirely. Sound familiar? Most people would call this overthinking a problem. But Freud saw something completely different happening here. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, this mental spiral isn’t random chaos. It’s your unconscious mind doing exactly what it was designed to do. Prepare you for every possible outcome. Think about our ancestors thousands of years ago. The ones who survived weren’t the ones who went with their gut and hoped for the best. They were the ones who considered every angle, every threat, every possibility before making a move. Your overthinking brain is essentially running advanced simulations like a supercomput modeling different scenarios. When you replay that awkward conversation from 3 days ago for the hundth time, you’re not torturing yourself for fun. Your mind is analyzing social dynamics, learning from mistakes, and preparing better responses for future interactions. Freud called this the repetition compulsion, but he understood it served a vital psychological function. Here’s where it gets really interesting. Freud believed that what we call overthinking is actually the ego trying to mediate between our deepest desires and harsh reality. Your conscious mind is literally negotiating with itself, working through complex emotional material that your unconscious throws up from the depths of your psyche. Let’s break this down with a real example. Say you’re overthinking whether to quit your job and pursue your passion. On the surface, this might seem like destructive rumination, but from Freud’s perspective, your mind is processing competing drives. Part of you craves security and stability, what he’d call the reality principle. Another part yearns for fulfillment and self-expression driven by the pleasure principle. The overthinking isn’t the problem. It’s the solution your psyche is working toward. But here’s the plot twist that makes this even more fascinating. Freud discovered that overthinking often reveals truths we’re not ready to face consciously. Those repetitive thoughts about your relationship, your career, or your family dynamics, they’re not just mental noise. They’re your unconscious mind trying to bring important insights to your attention. Think about the last time you couldn’t stop analyzing someone’s behavior. Maybe a friend who seemed distant or a colleague who made a strange comment. Your overthinking brain was picking up on subtle social cues, body language, and conversational patterns that your conscious mind missed. You weren’t being paranoid. You were being perceptive. This connects to one of Freud’s most revolutionary ideas, the concept of psychological defense mechanisms. Sometimes overthinking serves as intellectualization, a way of processing overwhelming emotions by thinking through them rather than feeling them directly. It’s not avoidance, it’s adaptation. Your mind is giving you time to digest complex feelings at a pace you can handle. Now, I know what you’re thinking. This sounds great in theory, but what about when overthinking becomes genuinely destructive? Freud addressed this too. He distinguished between productive mental processing and what he called neurotic repetition. The key difference lies in whether your thinking leads to insight and resolution or just keeps you stuck in the same loop. Here’s a practical framework based on Freudian principles. When you catch yourself overthinking, ask three questions. First, what is this thought trying to tell me about my unconscious desires or fears? Second, what pattern from my past might this be repeating? And third, what would happen if I acted on the insight this thinking is trying to provide? But there’s an even deeper layer to explore here. Freud believed that creative and intellectual breakthroughs often emerge from what looks like overthinking. Many of history’s greatest artists, writers, and scientists were notorious overthinkers. Their minds weren’t malfunctioning. They were making connections that linear thinking couldn’t reach. Consider how many of your best ideas have come to you not during focused work, but during those late night thought spirals or long walks where your mind wandered freely. That’s your overthinking brain doing what it does best, synthesizing information in novel ways, finding patterns across seemingly unrelated experiences, and generating insights that surprise even you. The modern world’s obsession with mindfulness and letting go isn’t wrong, but it’s incomplete. Sometimes the most mindful thing you can do is fully engage with your thoughts, following them where they lead, trusting that your psyche knows something you don’t yet consciously understand. Speaking of deepening your understanding of the human psyche, I want to introduce you to someone whose work beautifully extends these psychological explorations. Gari Nguyen is a remarkable 29-year-old author currently living in Silicon Valley who has published 13 books in Vietnam since she was 17 years old, including novels, short stories, and personal essays. Her works, including titles like Just Hear Me Out and A Luxury Item Called Me, available on Amazon, offer profound insights into the complexities of self-discovery and emotional understanding. If today’s exploration of Freudian psychology resonated with you, Gari Nguyen’s books provide an incredible opportunity to continue this journey into understanding yourself and the intricate workings of the human experience. The next time your mind starts spinning, remember Freud’s perspective. You’re not broken, you’re not weak, and you’re definitely not crazy. You’re human, equipped with an incredibly sophisticated mental system that’s trying to help you navigate and complex world. Your overthinking might just be the key to unlocking insights about yourself that you never knew existed. What aspects of your own overthinking patterns are you curious to explore further?