Help an over thinker.

[Macabre]

Hi, I'm new here. I'm Macabre. I struggle with a lot of anxiety and depression. I'm in the process of finding out my disorder. My psych thinks it's Manic bipolar disorder which is a little scary for me. I'm in a long distance relationship with someone as well. COVID really is the only thing keeping us apart and it makes me really down that I can't just up and go be with them. I have a lot that goes on in my head and I end up shutting down whenever I start getting bad mentally. I know I have always been an over thinker and since I have been through from traumatic experiences that have caused me to become a clam when I start feeling bad mentally. I guess what I could start by working on is how can I start recovering more from these past experiences in a safe way?

[Krakatoa1883]

Dear Overthinker, we are quite similar. I started using the word ruminate as opposed to overthink recently. I think that's more correct for what I seem to do. I just try to find something to work on to pull me away from those useless ruminations. Even if the task is as simple as color coding files or your closet, it seems to help me. I find myself doing mundane things whenever my brain is running amok. It helps & it's easier for me than something that would require real focus.

[Macabre in reply to Krakatoa1883]

It feels wonderful to know there is someone who is similar to me. I will definitely try that to see if it will help calm down my brain enough. Thank you

[Hidden]

Hi and welcome to this wonderful amazing community. I hope you get full support here.

[SirGrits]

Hey Macabre, welcome aboard. I hope you and your psych figure something out that works for you. Similar to Krakatoa, I started identifying my overthinking as ruminating and it really puts the futility of that thinking pattern into perspective for me, helping me break loose. I don't have much experience with trauma and don't know how much overlap there is with the treatment of trauma recovery and CBT. The CBT track is what led me to start identifying my destructive thinking patterns/cycles.God speed.

[Macabre in reply to SirGrits]

I'll be sure to test that out to see if it helps me. I know it's hard for my brain to stick to something it's not used to, but I really want to stop overthinking- or I guess I should ruminating on these thoughts. I'm willing to try anything that could possibly help.