In many research and surveys regarding overthinking, it has been found that there is some difference in the way of thinking of men and women. First of all, if we talk about its prevalence, many surveys show that the problem of overthinking is seen more in women than in men. According to a survey, about 57 percent of women consider themselves overthinkers, whereas among men this figure was found to be around 43 percent.

According to a report published in the British site Graziadaily, women often think about a problem or incident for a long time and think about it again and again. This process is called rumination in psychology. For this reason, sometimes the risk of mental problems like anxiety and depression is seen to be slightly higher in women.

Differences have also been found between men and women in the way of thinking and handling stress. According to many psychological studies, women often feel their stress and emotions internally and keep thinking about them deeply, whereas men sometimes express stress in different ways. In men, the effects of stress are sometimes visible externally in the form of behaviour, anger or any activity. This is called externalization of stress. This is why overthinking is not always clearly visible in men, but this does not mean that they do not feel mental pressure. In many cases, men also think equally deeply, it is just expressed in a different way.

Some scientific studies also give interesting information about the way the brain works. According to research, the activity of the frontal cortex (which is related to attention and decision) and the limbic system (which is related to emotions) in the brain of women has been seen to be more active in many circumstances. This is believed to be the reason why women sometimes think more deeply and for a longer time about any incident, conversation or relationship. This kind of deep emotional processing can sometimes take the form of overthinking.

Apart from this, age has also been seen to be related to overthinking. Many studies have found that overthinking is most common in youth between 25 and 35 years of age. At this age, many worries related to career, relationships, financial situation and future affect the mind. However, as age increases, people’s experience also increases and they develop more balanced thinking about many things. For this reason, the tendency of overthinking has been seen gradually decreasing in many people with increasing age, be it men or women.