Are you guilty of oversharing in social situations?

You meet someone new, perhaps at work or even at the gym, and you start interacting with them every day. As you spend more time together, you find yourself opening up, and talking more and more. Then one day, without even knowing it, you spill everything—from the crush who ghosted you to how your father was emotionally unavailable throughout your childhood, and even how your best friend betrayed you all those years ago. Now once you realise you’ve overshared, the feeling of self-loathing starts to creep in and you hate yourself for it.

It happens to the best of us, believe me. Experts on the internet believe that oversharing may result from one’s need for attention or validation from a particular person or a group of individuals. Some also claim that it often occurs when we try to control our anxiety in a social gathering. So, how does one stop oversharing?

Keep reading to find out...

Unfortunately, the only solution to not oversharing will come from you. Whenever you find yourself in a public setting, tell yourself to think before you respond. By "think," we mean take a few seconds to really process your thoughts and think about what you want to say, before you actually say it. Ask yourself: Is this really something want them to know, or are you simply anxious and feel compelled to overshare?

Know your triggers

Go back and think about all the times you’ve overshared. Is it because you hate silence? Does silence make you uncomfortable? Most of us feel that way. Silence can be uncomfortable and it often forces us to fill the quiet with our thoughts, which can lead to oversharing. There could be other reasons as well, like feeling nervous when you meet someone or there may be something else is bothering you. Either way, identifying your triggers help navigate them better in the future, which in turn helps dodge the act of oversharing. 

Practice active listening

Try journaling

If you find yourself frequently oversharing, consider journaling as a way to express your thoughts. This can act as an outlet for everything you want to say without being concerned about oversharing. So, grab your journal and pen, and let your thoughts flow freely onto the pages. It's a way of feeling heard without the fear of saying too much in social situations.

Feature image credit: Pexels

Also read: 5 ways to cope with relationship anxiety in the early stages of dating 

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