I'm at a loss on this one...

March 16, 2004 9:39 AM

Is this shite? Another [Estrogen] risk factor appears to be something that researchers call overthinking, a tendency to dwell on petty slights, to mentally replay testy encounters and to wallow in sad feelings. Studies show that this type of negative thinking is far more common in women than in men, and that it can be a harbinger of clinical depression. NYTimes article (registration req'd) about depression called "New Clues to Women Veiled in Black".
posted by mcgraw (14 comments total)

Is this shite? - I tend to think not. Bear in mind, on the male side of the equation, those testosterone driven pathologies and learning deficits which plague and charactorize males.

In primates, high testosterone levels have been associated with learning deficits, and the impulse to bash one's way through problems and opponents has a certain sociopathic edge to it as well.
posted by troutfishing at 9:52 AM on March 16, 2004

In fact, sexuality itself is pathological !

That's why I'm researching on how I can reproduce through parthenogenesis, asexually, like a slug.
posted by troutfishing at 9:57 AM on March 16, 2004

In a book published last year, "Women Who Think Too Much" Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema recommends a variety of strategies to help teenage and adult women cut down on overthinking.

That's just funny.
posted by rainbaby at 9:58 AM on March 16, 2004

We be full 'o hormones, and they all ultimately can affect the central nervous system circuitry. But frankly, women don't have a corner on stinking thinking, as trout mentions.

Another [Estrogen] risk factor appears to be something that researchers call overthinking, a tendency to dwell on petty slights, to mentally replay testy encounters and to wallow in sad feelings.

Kinda sounds to me like a certain right-wing faction here on MetaFilter. You guys knock off the estrogen abuse.

~chuckle/wink~
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 10:03 AM on March 16, 2004

The article seemed very balanced, taking into account all factors that contribute to depression.

The "overthinking" is definitely a contributor. A very negative explanatory style and a tendency to brood can be a real Achilles heel in anyone.
posted by orange swan at 10:10 AM on March 16, 2004

This kind of thinking is present in plenty of men too. It just manifests itself in different ways: alcoholism, addiction, violent temper, etc. But it's the same thinking, nonetheless.
posted by jonmc at 10:24 AM on March 16, 2004

I'm not going to worry my pretty little head about it.
posted by rainbaby at 10:27 AM on March 16, 2004

Kinda sounds to me like a certain right-wing faction here on MetaFilter.

Pssst..faction members...we meet in sub-basement 20 at midnight. Pass it on....
posted by jonmc at 10:35 AM on March 16, 2004

When you're an organism that is bright enough to know, and sensitive enough to care, it's probably better to leave the overthinking to those who are dim enough or callous enough not to take much to heart.
I think Bob Dylan said it all:

"Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain
That could hold you dear lady from going insane
That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain
Of your useless and pointless knowledge"

I've made that wish myself.
posted by ahimsakid at 11:23 AM on March 16, 2004

On one hand, this article is very... Damn, I almost fell into the overthinking trap there! But they didn't fool me, because when I read something I always analyze the... Shit! I mean, I don't analyze anything, it's just this instinct that I have... But wait, how do I know I have this instinct – that means I'm analyzing myself. Okay. Fine. Whatever. I think I'm just gonna open a can of beer and... No, I wont think about it, I'm just gonna do it, you know, just in that ad that always makes me think of...
posted by Termite at 11:45 AM on March 16, 2004

It's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility

The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
posted by mcgraw at 11:48 AM on March 16, 2004

...a tendency to dwell on petty slights, to mentally replay testy encounters and to wallow in sad feelings.

Isn't this a symptom of biochemical depression in general, regardless of sex? Given the amazing percentage of males AND females suffering from depression in the modern world, it seems to me that sorting out variables like male/female/estrogen per cause/effect would be pretty tough.
posted by Shane at 1:55 PM on March 16, 2004

Happens to me sometimes. I assumed it happens to everyone during moments in their life. Man, I used to have it bad for a while, but I stopped getting drunk all the time and with it the clinical depression.
posted by Keyser Soze at 6:46 PM on March 16, 2004

Howard Stern is a woman?
posted by maudlin at 6:42 AM on March 17, 2004