Every punctuation, emoji and letter is scrutinised to evaluate if the tone sounded rude, or reply was too curt or a better emoji could have gone. Before you know it, a simple text triggered anxiety.
The digital era comes with many eccentric habits and quirks, one of which is rereading a message you already sent and overthinking whether you said the right thing.
Once you know the psychology behind it, you will be able to improve impulse control. A senior consultant psychologist at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, Dr Rituparna Ghosh, simplified why sent messages have such a vicious cycle of overthinking and how one can stop this habit. The psychologist warned that repeatedly checking messages can become a way of seeking reassurance. When you feel unable to leave a message unchecked or find yourself revisiting sent texts and DMs, don’t let the habit continue. Breaking this habit begins with accepting that you cannot always know how someone will respond. Dr Ghosh suggested, “What helps is learning to sit with the discomfort of not knowing. Not checking the message. Not going back. Letting it be sent and trusting that it is enough. That tolerance, small as it sounds, is actually one of the most powerful things you can build. And if the urge to keep checking is affecting your sleep or your focus at work, that is worth talking to someone about. If you let this habit continue, the brief relief can keep you trapped in a cycle of repeatedly checking, and it will soon interfere with your sleep, concentration, and work.
