Is oversharing a coping mechanism?

For some people, sharing the intimate details of their lives can be empowering and freeing. But for many others, oversharing is a coping mechanism for anxiety, stress, and untreated trauma. In some cases, oversharing may be a cry for help from someone struggling to cope with their mental health.

What is oversharing a symptom of?

Oversharing happens because of ADHD symptoms like impulsivity.

Why is oversharing a coping mechanism?

The Oversharing Habit Is a Way for Us to Cope

Oversharing is one of those coping mechanisms that falls in that gray area, sometimes helping us to release stress, communicate our internal struggles or joys with others, and to reach out in a time of need.

Why oversharing is a trauma response?

“Trauma dumping refers to the oversharing of difficult emotions and thoughts with others,” Dr. Prewitt explains. “It is not a clinical term used by mental health providers, but people who engage in 'trauma dumping' often share traumatic events or stressful situations with others during inappropriate times.”

What is the psychology behind oversharing?

Trying to fast-track the relationship

A common reason for oversharing is the desire to build depth and emotional intimacy before the relationship is ready. This can often be connected to stress or a fear of not being liked by the person. First dates, new coworkers, or mutual friends often elicit this oversharing.

Oversharing: Psychology Behind Revealing Personal Details

Why is oversharing a red flag?

Why Oversharing is a problem? Oversharing can also make others feel uncomfortable, which may lead them to avoid being around you. Once you say something, you can never take it back. If you overshare via social media, you may damage your reputation and hurt professional opportunities.

How do you cure oversharing?

Is overexplaining yourself a trauma response?

In fact, it's a trauma response known as fawning. At its core, Caroline Fenkel, LCSW, chief clinical officer at Charlie Health, says that fawning (aka over-explaining yourself) is an attempt to avoid conflict.

Why do I feel the need to overexplain?

According to Banks, overexplaining can be a trauma response and can develop as a result of gaslighting. She adds that anxiety or ADHD can also lead to overexplaining and it can happen to those who grew up with a strict upbringing where “you had to justify your choices”.

How do I stop oversharing and talking too much?

What mental illness makes you Overshare?

Oversharing can all too often be a smokescreen for a serious psychological issue, including things like anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder. And the first hint can be whether you can control your blather or not.

What is the most unhealthy coping mechanism?

Excessive drug or alcohol use.

Drug and alcohol use can be a slippery slope. Stimulants and depressants may help to numb feelings, pain and subside those negative thoughts that are actively being avoided, but excessive use can lead to severe health complications, addiction, overdose and death.

Is trauma dumping the same as sharing?

Mutual sharing for emotional support is one of the ways that people develop closer relationships with others. But, trauma dumping usually isn't a mutual interaction; it's a toxic kind of communication that involves one person getting their emotional needs met at the expense of someone else.

Why do people with ADHD overshare?

Another reason kids with ADHD might overshare is trouble with social skills. It's common for kids with ADHD to misread social situations and social cues. They might not recognize when it's not a good time or place to say something, or not the right person to say it to.

What is trauma dumping?

Trauma dumping is when someone shares traumatic details or events without another person's consent. Before confiding in someone, it's important to make sure that they can properly support you.

What trauma causes fawning?

What types of trauma cause the fawn response? The fawn response is most commonly associated with childhood trauma and complex trauma — types of trauma that arise from repeat events, such as abuse or childhood neglect — rather than single-event trauma, such as an accident.

What is fawn trauma?

What is fawning? Fawning is a trauma response where a person develops people-pleasing behaviors to avoid conflict and to establish a sense of safety. In other words, the fawn trauma response is a type of coping mechanism that survivors of complex trauma adopt to "appease" their abusers.

How do you know if you're emotionally traumatized?

Emotional trauma is recognizable by a persistent sense of unsafety and other challenging emotions such as fear and/or anxiety. It is often accompanied by other physical symptoms as well, such as chronic insomnia, nightmares, and other health issues.

Is being a highly sensitive person a trauma response?

While a highly sensitive person (HSP) is no more likely to experience distressing events than a non-HSP, they may be more likely to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result. The term “highly sensitive person” was coined in 1991 by psychologist Elaine Aron.

What are the three main human responses to trauma?

Here are some common reactions to trauma: Losing hope for the future. Feeling distant (detached) or losing a sense of concern about others. Being unable to concentrate or make decisions.

What are the consequences of oversharing?

Being careless with your privacy can open you and your family up to everything, from cyberbullying and theft to extortion and kidnap. Criminals can use social media geo-tagging, landmarks and research into your typical behaviour or schedule.

What are some examples of oversharing?

Should you apologize for oversharing?

Make a brief, light apology

A few examples (said in a quick, casual tone): "Sorry, that joke was in poor taste." "Sorry, I just realized I cut you off a few times." "Sorry, I'm oversharing.

How do I set boundaries with oversharing?

Do people bond over shared trauma?

A "trauma bond" is an attachment formed between two people who unconsciously bond to each other based on shared trauma. Traumatic bonds are typically established in abusive childhoods and are learned as a product of intermittent positive and negative reinforcement.