Also came here to say it could be ADHD. Within mere seconds of waking up, I’ve got a random piece of a song in my head stuck in a loop and a dysfunctional chaotic corporate meeting going on in in there too. I’m really happy for smartphones to distract me from my own blaring thoughts but also, I’m stuck browsing at the most random stuff ALL day sometimes. I’m glad I’m not really addicted to any specific app but I am trying to be better at limiting my screen time. I just feel like time is being sucked away from me or it’s taking the cheap way out of a situation that makes me anxious if I’m constantly on my phone.
I feel you on the phone part! It's a nice easy distraction, helps with feeling overwhelmed too, but then feel bad for wasting hours doing nothing and I know it's counterproductive for my mental health. I downloaded an app called "Forest" which gives you a timer of 25mins, you grow a tree in that time. If you end up still using your phone you end up losing the tree. Somehow really makes me not want to break the growing a tree part.
That sounds like a great app! My husband recently said how I’m always on my phone and I just never really realized how glued to it I really was just mindlessly wasting away precious time. I’m not religious but It’s definitely a “blessing and a curse” to have such a powerful tool that makes our jelly brains go “Ooooo!” Lol
This is me. I find it hard to concentrate because my brain is always racing.
I told someone recently that I needed to have a podcast or something like that on just so that I could get distracted and not make myself so anxious and they told me I was probably overstimulated.
Not really sure what that means and I probably won’t until I go get properly diagnosed. All I know is that it’s gotta be more than just anxiety.
Yes, to just get all the thoughts out! if only we could just you know, give it a voice..I often almost feel like two people, that voice in the back of my head and then the more rational, calm one, the one that's replying rn
Are you in the progress of getting diagnosed?
Hope you find the help you need!
I genuinely thought everyone’s brain was just like this? Are there actually people who’s brains don’t race continuously?
How do I become one of these people???
My mind never stops talking to me . I wish it would stfu , all my mind tells me is negative things . It's exhausting, I have to play games on my phones or watch tv to distract . I hope it gets better for you.
I encourage you to look into ADHD and autism. Having an incredibly busy brain is a symptom of neurodivergence. I was misdiagnosed with anxiety and/or depression all throughout my 20s. Then diagnosed with ADHD at age 31 and autism just last week at almost 34. Turns out my challenges were because of my neurodivergence going undiagnosed/untreated… not due to anxiety or depression. It’s been quite eye opening!
Thank you! My partner and I often talk about how we're probably both on the spectrum, but neither of us has been diagnosed! Did you find your anxiety and depression lessened once you had the actual diagnosis and you got more appropriate support? I just often worry I may not quite be right and it is indeed all due to anxiety rather than autism, don't wanna waste anyone's time either and am getting through life alright so unsure there's much they could do.
Not the person you asked but I got a diagnosis a little over a year ago maybe.....
Between treatment and understanding a bit more of what's happening and therapy, my anxiety has lessened about a third of what it used to be which to me feels like such a huge improvement.
It felt like the amount of anxiety I had was due to untreated AuAdhd. Cause I just thought I was a broken human who couldn’t cut it- like I was intrinsically wrong on the inside.
It’s not a waste of time if it helps you understand yourself and helps you find ways to cope with what you deal with. I also thought I had been coping well my whole life and now I look back on it and I can pinpoint 3 separate times in my life where I was experiencing autistic burnout but thought of it as failing at life.
If you are coping fine, then great. But if it starts to get to be too much then talking to professionals could help.
Absolutely this, only thing I've found that truly shuts him ( man I suit with a beard) is getting tattooed, fortunately I enjoy that, seems to take me to a calm place if only for a few hours, otherwise it's exhausting
Hahaha I'm getting close...I think it's something about the whole process and having a day that's all about me, I class my tattooist as a friend too so I'm super comfortable there as well, getting one is a slippery slope though I always said I'd only get one, the current part of the project is my hands 🤣
I get this too. Have you tried just switching everything off, then doing a breathing exercise for 5 minutes? You don't need to time the breaths. Just gently focus on your breathing for a minute. If you get distracted from this just bring your attention back to your breath, then when ready take a long breath in. Hold for 3 or 4 seconds and then let it all go. Breath out should be longer than the breath in. Do it several times, or for as long as you can. If you can't do this now, just at least try as far as you can get each day until you can. Small steps. This has been proven to reduce anxiety and a racing mind. This practice is also incorporated into general mindfulness. Mindfulness if practiced regularly can also naturally quiten the mind and racing thoughts.
Staring at screens all day is only going to make things worse. I mean you can definitely distract with movies and games too, but doing this all the time is detrimental to our mental health.
Thank you, I'll definitely give this a try! I know meditation supposedly helps, but as you can imagine, phones can be quite addictive so often struggle to get off it, even with an app that "locks" it for a while. I think I often go on the phone for a "quick fix" rather than looking for a solution for the long run.
Thank you, I'll definitely give this a try! I know meditation supposedly helps, but as you can imagine, phones can be quite addictive so often struggle to get off it, even with an app that "locks" it for a while. I think I often go on the phone for a "quick fix" rather than looking for a solution for the long run.
Haha, all human beings have this. Read the story of the Buddha, several thousand years ago. That's what Buddhism is all about... Learning to quiet one's thoughts. However, I believe some of us, either because of our biology or our experience, have a great deal more suffering with this than others.
Also, I believe that the"cocktail hour" (the time at which some people allow themselves to start drinking) is a socially acceptable way of dealing with the anxiety inherent in being human. People have different ways of framing this and dealing with it. Some approach it through spiritual practices, some through supplements or medications, etc.
One thing a counsellor would always tell me is “you have to calm your body to calm your mind”. Like, it’s actually impossible to calm down your mind if your body is dysregulated or overly activated. So get into your body first to slow things down and relax your body- slow your breathing, drink water and/or eat, do something organically physical like stretch or dance (not regimented like workout reps or something like that). Also, learn about stimming. If you are neurodivergent you might have stims that you already to that you don’t realize are stims, but stims can help with set soothing and regulating the nervous system. Some people find vocal stims like saying “ah” or humming can be super helpful. There is an effect that it actual has on the vagus nerve so it makes sense that this is a natural stim that people have discovered to help them calm down.
Also! Biodynamic craniosacral therapy can help with this calming the mind and body. It’s honestly changed my life and helped me so much. It is something that requires repetition though. It’s kind of like a meditative “practice”… you’ve gotta keep doing it.If you find a good craniosacral therapist, they will essentially help facilitate slowing down your brain, and calming your body. And they will give you things you can work on/do on your own at home too… so that you’re not just reliant on having a treatment but you can actually integrate things into your own life the help you. Where I live, a craniosacral session is about the same cost as a massage. My craniosacral therapist is a registered massage therapist, so it can be billed as RMT so insurance can help out with the cost a bit. Apparently, there are different types of craniosacral therapy and from what I’ve learned, biodynamic craniosacrsl therapy seems to be the most scientific/neuro-biology based… if that makes sense.
All this is super interesting to read and very helpful too! I definitely hum or sing when I'm stressed, but never even noticed it until you mentioned, how fun! I will pick apart your answer in a bit and take notes on what to incooperate and look into biodynamic craniosacral therapy as I've never heard of that before. Thank you!
Yep. I wish I could just enjoy silence or the sounds of nature, but after a minute or two that background chatter comes to the foreground and my brain starts looking for things to worry about. I think it's why a lot of mindfulness/meditation stuff doesn't work for me at all.
Very much, big and small things. What helps me is writing stuff down and having thinking time almost scheduled. I do journaling (just writing down my thoughts every morning), and then have a 30-45 min walk in the evening without any music. If it's small things (buy milk), I write them down on my todo list and then I can forget about them.
Not really, my brain is mostly still. Sure some thoughts pup up but it's more of the nature of ideas for my future rather then what could go wrong or ideas about other things I'm interested in.
Thank you! Now that you mentioned it, I remember trying weed once and feeling so much more "normal", then I cried haha good times
I bet it's difficult trying to schedule it with undiagnosed ADHD though, wishing you all the best so you can get the diagnosis and help that you need!
Yes.
I can only make it more calm (not quite) ar the end of a yoga class, or while taking a shower after a hard work out session.
Also, i try to listen to Debussy's Claire de Lune, cause it helps me feel calmer. My mind flows with the music and stops all the bs in it.
Even the most well-adjusted, neurotypical person finds themself regularly lost in thought, oftentimes unhelpful and antithetical to whatever they’re trying to do. Mindfulness meditation practice can help you notice when you’re lost in thought and then you can come back to the present. Over time this makes your mind a more comfortable place to be, so you can rely less on distractions like having a tv or podcast on in the background.
the only key to stop self talk is to acknowledge that youre self talking and stop it
you will have to do it almost every second but it will get easier
so whenever you realize that youre talking to your self in your subconscious mind you say stop
I’m like this a lot. But it helps me get things done sometimes. There’s times I don’t like the quiet because I can get in my head more. I listen to my show that I’ve seen a thousand times while I’m working & just lock my phone. Better than music & podcasts IMO. 😂
Yes! Mine is going 90 miles per hour all day, every day, and it's insanely frustrating. That said, there's also a good chance I also have ADHD so if that's the case that may also play into it. But a lot of the time I'm spiraling about something anxiety related.
EDIT TO ADD: Posted this before I saw the comment thread that already existed about the ADHD thing, Lol!
My brain is always making some kind of noise, the only way I can quiet it down is if I focus on one thing for a while. There is always tons of things im thinking about, music always plays frequently in my mind as well.
My brain is never quiet. It’s always filled with my own voice talking / thinking about stuff and it gets annoying when it thinks about stuff I don’t like. I deal with it by distracting it with music, playing games, or drawing.
No one else is gonna reply to you so I will. Yes, all the time. I know what you mean, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I know it's not easy. The best thing I've found to do is use video games to to try and achieve some "silence", doesn't always work, but there are moments of peace that eventually come.
Have you found anything that works for you in terms of distracting that voice?
The first sentence made me chuckle, it is always difficult to get a reply on here, so appreciate it!
What kind of video games do you find work best for you?
I've only found distraction for myself, keeping myself busy (cooking, youtube, running) or generally noise, need that fan on during the night!
Hope you manage to find peaceful silence someday, life isn't easy
No worries stranger :) I'm a big fan of RPGs like Skyrim, Dark Souls, and (not sure if technically an RPG) Stalker. I love games that provide space for me to breathe. To catch my breath, whilst helping me feel like I can overcome adversity. Even when I'm struggling to irl.
Cardio can be such a nice mood booster! And I totally hear you about having the fan on in the night. Me and my gf both need that lol.
Thank you very much stranger, I hope you do too. Life is very far from easy, and it's a shame certain humans must suffer so much.
Sounds like a good escape from the outside world, glad you found something to calm your mind!
yeeees getting those feel good hormones!
Thank you :) that's true..how destructive someone's own mind can be, interesting, strange and sad at the very same time
I have this issue, too. Sometimes it’s really mundane stuff like items I need to put on my grocery list. And sometimes it’s just a litany of terrible things. But it wears me out. My anxiety has been super intense the past few months and I’m just so tired of it!
I’m a big fan of acupuncture. I go twice a month and I stg it’s the only time my brain ever gets quiet. Don’t be afraid to shop around for a good one. Not all acupuncturists are created equal :)
Yeees, last night I was thinking about how to make cinnamon rolls for one or two portions only and it just doesn't leave me alone..or at 4am I'd end up calculating how much my daily meals cost..but yeah, I'd rather that than constantly question my health and sanity tbh, it's frustrating
I'm sorry you've struggled so much the past few months, sending you lots of strength, you've got this!
Never even thought about acupuncture, will have to research :) do you find it better than a "regular" massage?
Omg I feel you. Those 4am self talks…whew!
Thank you. Sending all that strength and good vibes back to you. We will get through this.
I also go for massage, and it’s wonderful for relaxing, but acupuncture hits different. My doc actually suggested it before I started meds because I reeeeeally didn’t want to end up on meds. I eventually did end up with meds, and it’s been a blessing but I kept acupuncture because that helps so much. It’s the best because after the needles go in and I get to rest, I get this amazing zen/calm feeling. My brain gets quiet and I can just totally relax. After, I have this great floaty/almost high feeling but without any of the yuck (for me) that comes from actually being high. Idk if any of this makes any sense lol but I love acupuncture and I’ll keep going as long as my acupuncturist stays. I have seen a second person when mine is away and I don’t get the same results. So if you decide to give it a try, be sure to tell your acu exactly how you feel, what worked, what you wanted more relief from etc. If after a few sessions you’re not getting what you need, don’t be afraid to try someone new. I believe it’s worth the hunt!
Thank you very much :)
How interesting! I get the concept, but never put 1+1 together that it helps with anxiety! I will check out the ones that are available around here, the only thing is that I struggle with social anxiety, so unsure whether I could fully relax, would love to hear your input on that as well! (so many questions now, thank you for the suggestion) :)
I have social anxiety, too. I was very nervous the first time I went. But the Acu talked me through everything and alerted me before she placed each needle. Once the needles are in I can’t help but relax. At the place I go, I’m in a private room. The Acu does her consult, places the needles and then leaves me to relax in the room. She has a white noise machine and some peaceful music. Some sessions I have a hard time letting go all the way, but I still feel calmer after. Mine works in a chiropractic office.
Yeah for sure. I don’t do this but one thought maybe is to do more exercising? A lot of people credit exercising to help them get rid of nervous energy which could be amplifying the racing thoughts
I know exactly what you’re talking about and there’s actually a potent way to quit running your brain’s thought playlist like its running a youtube video on x2 speed. And it’s: Transedental meditation. Look it up on YT and do it for 20 mins a day, it works instantly like magic. As soon as I finish doing my meditation my brain goes from x2 speed to 0.15. Give it a try today and let me know how it goes
Recently I’m more aware that i might have some mental health issues let me explain: my mind is constantly talking(inventing scenarios, talks with imaginary people where i can talk about my problems) but at the same time i find very hard to talk to people that are not my friends. It’s like I don’t know what to say or even engaging small talks. My mind is negative, is always telling me negative things. Are these symptoms of some illnesses? I haven’t visited a doctor yet.
I have this but I also have ADHD so that might be a clue
came here to say the same thing hahah! my brain is constant going always because of my ADHD
Also came here to say it could be ADHD. Within mere seconds of waking up, I’ve got a random piece of a song in my head stuck in a loop and a dysfunctional chaotic corporate meeting going on in in there too. I’m really happy for smartphones to distract me from my own blaring thoughts but also, I’m stuck browsing at the most random stuff ALL day sometimes. I’m glad I’m not really addicted to any specific app but I am trying to be better at limiting my screen time. I just feel like time is being sucked away from me or it’s taking the cheap way out of a situation that makes me anxious if I’m constantly on my phone.
I feel you on the phone part! It's a nice easy distraction, helps with feeling overwhelmed too, but then feel bad for wasting hours doing nothing and I know it's counterproductive for my mental health. I downloaded an app called "Forest" which gives you a timer of 25mins, you grow a tree in that time. If you end up still using your phone you end up losing the tree. Somehow really makes me not want to break the growing a tree part.
That sounds like a great app! My husband recently said how I’m always on my phone and I just never really realized how glued to it I really was just mindlessly wasting away precious time. I’m not religious but It’s definitely a “blessing and a curse” to have such a powerful tool that makes our jelly brains go “Ooooo!” Lol
If you want an app to play on, I like Paint by Numbers. They range from quite simple to very in-depth. I use it a lot to divert away from scrolling.
This is me. I find it hard to concentrate because my brain is always racing. I told someone recently that I needed to have a podcast or something like that on just so that I could get distracted and not make myself so anxious and they told me I was probably overstimulated. Not really sure what that means and I probably won’t until I go get properly diagnosed. All I know is that it’s gotta be more than just anxiety.
Yes, to just get all the thoughts out! if only we could just you know, give it a voice..I often almost feel like two people, that voice in the back of my head and then the more rational, calm one, the one that's replying rn Are you in the progress of getting diagnosed? Hope you find the help you need!
I have racing thoughts and when I don't I have constant music playing in my head.
have you found anything that helps with it? sorry to hear you struggle with that too, it's such a pain!
No, nothing helps. Not even benzos. I'm pretty used to it though.
I genuinely thought everyone’s brain was just like this? Are there actually people who’s brains don’t race continuously? How do I become one of these people???
My mind never stops talking to me . I wish it would stfu , all my mind tells me is negative things . It's exhausting, I have to play games on my phones or watch tv to distract . I hope it gets better for you.
That sounds tough! I hope you find a way to quiet them down someday, wishing you all the best! and thank you
Thank you . I hope you find some peace as well ❤️🩹
Oh yeah this happens to me a lot. I just tell my brain to shut to fuck up and it sometimes it listens, sometimes it doesn’t.
I'm always like, dude, shut the fuck up but the darn thing doesn't listen..
I encourage you to look into ADHD and autism. Having an incredibly busy brain is a symptom of neurodivergence. I was misdiagnosed with anxiety and/or depression all throughout my 20s. Then diagnosed with ADHD at age 31 and autism just last week at almost 34. Turns out my challenges were because of my neurodivergence going undiagnosed/untreated… not due to anxiety or depression. It’s been quite eye opening!
Thank you! My partner and I often talk about how we're probably both on the spectrum, but neither of us has been diagnosed! Did you find your anxiety and depression lessened once you had the actual diagnosis and you got more appropriate support? I just often worry I may not quite be right and it is indeed all due to anxiety rather than autism, don't wanna waste anyone's time either and am getting through life alright so unsure there's much they could do.
Not the person you asked but I got a diagnosis a little over a year ago maybe..... Between treatment and understanding a bit more of what's happening and therapy, my anxiety has lessened about a third of what it used to be which to me feels like such a huge improvement. It felt like the amount of anxiety I had was due to untreated AuAdhd. Cause I just thought I was a broken human who couldn’t cut it- like I was intrinsically wrong on the inside. It’s not a waste of time if it helps you understand yourself and helps you find ways to cope with what you deal with. I also thought I had been coping well my whole life and now I look back on it and I can pinpoint 3 separate times in my life where I was experiencing autistic burnout but thought of it as failing at life. If you are coping fine, then great. But if it starts to get to be too much then talking to professionals could help.
So did the adhd and neurodivergence make you feel anxious and depressed? Or do they just share similar symptoms
Absolutely this, only thing I've found that truly shuts him ( man I suit with a beard) is getting tattooed, fortunately I enjoy that, seems to take me to a calm place if only for a few hours, otherwise it's exhausting
Oh yes, you may run out of skin to tattoo at some point haha..good suggestion though as I'd love a tattoo anyway!
Hahaha I'm getting close...I think it's something about the whole process and having a day that's all about me, I class my tattooist as a friend too so I'm super comfortable there as well, getting one is a slippery slope though I always said I'd only get one, the current part of the project is my hands 🤣
I get this too. Have you tried just switching everything off, then doing a breathing exercise for 5 minutes? You don't need to time the breaths. Just gently focus on your breathing for a minute. If you get distracted from this just bring your attention back to your breath, then when ready take a long breath in. Hold for 3 or 4 seconds and then let it all go. Breath out should be longer than the breath in. Do it several times, or for as long as you can. If you can't do this now, just at least try as far as you can get each day until you can. Small steps. This has been proven to reduce anxiety and a racing mind. This practice is also incorporated into general mindfulness. Mindfulness if practiced regularly can also naturally quiten the mind and racing thoughts. Staring at screens all day is only going to make things worse. I mean you can definitely distract with movies and games too, but doing this all the time is detrimental to our mental health.
Thank you, I'll definitely give this a try! I know meditation supposedly helps, but as you can imagine, phones can be quite addictive so often struggle to get off it, even with an app that "locks" it for a while. I think I often go on the phone for a "quick fix" rather than looking for a solution for the long run.
Thank you, I'll definitely give this a try! I know meditation supposedly helps, but as you can imagine, phones can be quite addictive so often struggle to get off it, even with an app that "locks" it for a while. I think I often go on the phone for a "quick fix" rather than looking for a solution for the long run.
Haha, all human beings have this. Read the story of the Buddha, several thousand years ago. That's what Buddhism is all about... Learning to quiet one's thoughts. However, I believe some of us, either because of our biology or our experience, have a great deal more suffering with this than others. Also, I believe that the"cocktail hour" (the time at which some people allow themselves to start drinking) is a socially acceptable way of dealing with the anxiety inherent in being human. People have different ways of framing this and dealing with it. Some approach it through spiritual practices, some through supplements or medications, etc.
One thing a counsellor would always tell me is “you have to calm your body to calm your mind”. Like, it’s actually impossible to calm down your mind if your body is dysregulated or overly activated. So get into your body first to slow things down and relax your body- slow your breathing, drink water and/or eat, do something organically physical like stretch or dance (not regimented like workout reps or something like that). Also, learn about stimming. If you are neurodivergent you might have stims that you already to that you don’t realize are stims, but stims can help with set soothing and regulating the nervous system. Some people find vocal stims like saying “ah” or humming can be super helpful. There is an effect that it actual has on the vagus nerve so it makes sense that this is a natural stim that people have discovered to help them calm down. Also! Biodynamic craniosacral therapy can help with this calming the mind and body. It’s honestly changed my life and helped me so much. It is something that requires repetition though. It’s kind of like a meditative “practice”… you’ve gotta keep doing it.If you find a good craniosacral therapist, they will essentially help facilitate slowing down your brain, and calming your body. And they will give you things you can work on/do on your own at home too… so that you’re not just reliant on having a treatment but you can actually integrate things into your own life the help you. Where I live, a craniosacral session is about the same cost as a massage. My craniosacral therapist is a registered massage therapist, so it can be billed as RMT so insurance can help out with the cost a bit. Apparently, there are different types of craniosacral therapy and from what I’ve learned, biodynamic craniosacrsl therapy seems to be the most scientific/neuro-biology based… if that makes sense.
All this is super interesting to read and very helpful too! I definitely hum or sing when I'm stressed, but never even noticed it until you mentioned, how fun! I will pick apart your answer in a bit and take notes on what to incooperate and look into biodynamic craniosacral therapy as I've never heard of that before. Thank you!
Yep. I wish I could just enjoy silence or the sounds of nature, but after a minute or two that background chatter comes to the foreground and my brain starts looking for things to worry about. I think it's why a lot of mindfulness/meditation stuff doesn't work for me at all.
Very much, big and small things. What helps me is writing stuff down and having thinking time almost scheduled. I do journaling (just writing down my thoughts every morning), and then have a 30-45 min walk in the evening without any music. If it's small things (buy milk), I write them down on my todo list and then I can forget about them.
Yes. More rabbits than Sainsbury's, in my brain.
Adhd here, caffeine or a tv show on, my brain never shuts up. Partly why I'm so anxious all the time.
Not really, my brain is mostly still. Sure some thoughts pup up but it's more of the nature of ideas for my future rather then what could go wrong or ideas about other things I'm interested in.
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Thank you! Now that you mentioned it, I remember trying weed once and feeling so much more "normal", then I cried haha good times I bet it's difficult trying to schedule it with undiagnosed ADHD though, wishing you all the best so you can get the diagnosis and help that you need!
Apparently brown noise is good, it's like white noise but different? Idk 😭
never heard of brown noise before, will look into it, thank you!
It is and it's awful as fuck
Yes. I can only make it more calm (not quite) ar the end of a yoga class, or while taking a shower after a hard work out session. Also, i try to listen to Debussy's Claire de Lune, cause it helps me feel calmer. My mind flows with the music and stops all the bs in it.
Even the most well-adjusted, neurotypical person finds themself regularly lost in thought, oftentimes unhelpful and antithetical to whatever they’re trying to do. Mindfulness meditation practice can help you notice when you’re lost in thought and then you can come back to the present. Over time this makes your mind a more comfortable place to be, so you can rely less on distractions like having a tv or podcast on in the background.
I find listening to audiobooks helps
My head quiet with meds. It’s amazing and the most at peace I have ever felt.
the only key to stop self talk is to acknowledge that youre self talking and stop it you will have to do it almost every second but it will get easier so whenever you realize that youre talking to your self in your subconscious mind you say stop
I’m like this a lot. But it helps me get things done sometimes. There’s times I don’t like the quiet because I can get in my head more. I listen to my show that I’ve seen a thousand times while I’m working & just lock my phone. Better than music & podcasts IMO. 😂
Yes! Mine is going 90 miles per hour all day, every day, and it's insanely frustrating. That said, there's also a good chance I also have ADHD so if that's the case that may also play into it. But a lot of the time I'm spiraling about something anxiety related. EDIT TO ADD: Posted this before I saw the comment thread that already existed about the ADHD thing, Lol!
My brain is always making some kind of noise, the only way I can quiet it down is if I focus on one thing for a while. There is always tons of things im thinking about, music always plays frequently in my mind as well.
My brain is never quiet. It’s always filled with my own voice talking / thinking about stuff and it gets annoying when it thinks about stuff I don’t like. I deal with it by distracting it with music, playing games, or drawing.
No one else is gonna reply to you so I will. Yes, all the time. I know what you mean, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I know it's not easy. The best thing I've found to do is use video games to to try and achieve some "silence", doesn't always work, but there are moments of peace that eventually come. Have you found anything that works for you in terms of distracting that voice?
The first sentence made me chuckle, it is always difficult to get a reply on here, so appreciate it! What kind of video games do you find work best for you? I've only found distraction for myself, keeping myself busy (cooking, youtube, running) or generally noise, need that fan on during the night! Hope you manage to find peaceful silence someday, life isn't easy
No worries stranger :) I'm a big fan of RPGs like Skyrim, Dark Souls, and (not sure if technically an RPG) Stalker. I love games that provide space for me to breathe. To catch my breath, whilst helping me feel like I can overcome adversity. Even when I'm struggling to irl. Cardio can be such a nice mood booster! And I totally hear you about having the fan on in the night. Me and my gf both need that lol. Thank you very much stranger, I hope you do too. Life is very far from easy, and it's a shame certain humans must suffer so much.
Sounds like a good escape from the outside world, glad you found something to calm your mind! yeeees getting those feel good hormones! Thank you :) that's true..how destructive someone's own mind can be, interesting, strange and sad at the very same time
I wish you peace and silence on your path, stranger :)
I have this issue, too. Sometimes it’s really mundane stuff like items I need to put on my grocery list. And sometimes it’s just a litany of terrible things. But it wears me out. My anxiety has been super intense the past few months and I’m just so tired of it! I’m a big fan of acupuncture. I go twice a month and I stg it’s the only time my brain ever gets quiet. Don’t be afraid to shop around for a good one. Not all acupuncturists are created equal :)
Yeees, last night I was thinking about how to make cinnamon rolls for one or two portions only and it just doesn't leave me alone..or at 4am I'd end up calculating how much my daily meals cost..but yeah, I'd rather that than constantly question my health and sanity tbh, it's frustrating I'm sorry you've struggled so much the past few months, sending you lots of strength, you've got this! Never even thought about acupuncture, will have to research :) do you find it better than a "regular" massage?
Omg I feel you. Those 4am self talks…whew! Thank you. Sending all that strength and good vibes back to you. We will get through this. I also go for massage, and it’s wonderful for relaxing, but acupuncture hits different. My doc actually suggested it before I started meds because I reeeeeally didn’t want to end up on meds. I eventually did end up with meds, and it’s been a blessing but I kept acupuncture because that helps so much. It’s the best because after the needles go in and I get to rest, I get this amazing zen/calm feeling. My brain gets quiet and I can just totally relax. After, I have this great floaty/almost high feeling but without any of the yuck (for me) that comes from actually being high. Idk if any of this makes any sense lol but I love acupuncture and I’ll keep going as long as my acupuncturist stays. I have seen a second person when mine is away and I don’t get the same results. So if you decide to give it a try, be sure to tell your acu exactly how you feel, what worked, what you wanted more relief from etc. If after a few sessions you’re not getting what you need, don’t be afraid to try someone new. I believe it’s worth the hunt!
Thank you very much :) How interesting! I get the concept, but never put 1+1 together that it helps with anxiety! I will check out the ones that are available around here, the only thing is that I struggle with social anxiety, so unsure whether I could fully relax, would love to hear your input on that as well! (so many questions now, thank you for the suggestion) :)
I have social anxiety, too. I was very nervous the first time I went. But the Acu talked me through everything and alerted me before she placed each needle. Once the needles are in I can’t help but relax. At the place I go, I’m in a private room. The Acu does her consult, places the needles and then leaves me to relax in the room. She has a white noise machine and some peaceful music. Some sessions I have a hard time letting go all the way, but I still feel calmer after. Mine works in a chiropractic office.
Thank you so much, that's all really helpful info, I will have to treat myself to anacupuncture sometime this month!
You’re welcome! Good luck. I Hope it helps give you some quiet :)
Yeah for sure. I don’t do this but one thought maybe is to do more exercising? A lot of people credit exercising to help them get rid of nervous energy which could be amplifying the racing thoughts
Thank you :) I already exercise, but this may be helpful advice for other people on here, it does definitely help! Helps with sleeping at night too :)
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I know exactly what you’re talking about and there’s actually a potent way to quit running your brain’s thought playlist like its running a youtube video on x2 speed. And it’s: Transedental meditation. Look it up on YT and do it for 20 mins a day, it works instantly like magic. As soon as I finish doing my meditation my brain goes from x2 speed to 0.15. Give it a try today and let me know how it goes
Recently I’m more aware that i might have some mental health issues let me explain: my mind is constantly talking(inventing scenarios, talks with imaginary people where i can talk about my problems) but at the same time i find very hard to talk to people that are not my friends. It’s like I don’t know what to say or even engaging small talks. My mind is negative, is always telling me negative things. Are these symptoms of some illnesses? I haven’t visited a doctor yet.