chriswolak 's review for:

Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

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In the past, I've been told that I think too much and this was never meant as a compliment, so I resisted this book based on the title. It was recommended in another book I'd read, so I checked it out of the library. The sort of thinking the author is writing about here isn't deep thinking about a topic or even worrying. She's talking about being stuck in a negative thought habit about things that have happened which leads to sadness, anxiety, and depression.

I did more of a heavy skim than a word-by-word reading (hence not giving a star rating), but I did write down several long passages to reflect upon.

Near the end of the book, Nolen-Hoeksema makes the case for the need for quiet alone time to reconnect with ourselves and sort out our own values. This isn't just good for us as individuals or for our relationships, but such practice has far-reaching implications. She writes,

"We cannot, as a society, choose leaders who represent our best values if we do not, as individuals, spend the necessary quiet time discovering and refining those values. Otherwise, we end up either letting other people make choices for us or going with the candidate who has the best ad campaign. We have an obligation not only to ourselves but to current and future generations to connect with our values and make choices as a citizen that reflect these values. Again, this takes time and turning down the volume."

I checked the publication date after reading that paragraph. It was 2003.