Overthinking

[betterlife6]

Does anyone overthink constantly? I cannot shut my brain off at all. No matter what I do and it’s starting to drive me nuts!

[Hidden]

Hello betterlife6

I could win a medal for overthinking !

I have said for years I wished these brains came with an off switch because mine seems to be on all the time !

I can even wake up in the night and it is waiting for me and in a morning it feels like it has been waiting for me again

How to stop it , well I suppose therapy or Counselling could help if you could get some , distraction techniques as well as keeping yourself busy

I do try but have to be honest that even when I am watching TV I can still be thinking at the same time

Sorry I don't have any better advise but at least you know you are not alone

Take Care x

[foxglove in reply to Hidden]

Hi, sorry to butt in - you have described me perfectly....if only one could locate that off switch!!!

[Hidden in reply to foxglove]

Hello foxglove

Butt in any time you like

If I find where that off switch is I will make you one of the first one's I tell , but been looking for it for years

Mine is well and truly lost and has been working overtime at the moment

No one get's it do they unless they are suffering if only they knew just how hard work this can be x

[foxglove in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, hope you find the off switch - keep searching and I will too.

[Beevee in reply to foxglove]

Do you realise that the reason your mind wont relax is because you keeping searching for the answer? The reason your mind is constantly conjuring up scary thoughts is because you have anxiety. If you didnt have inappropriate anxiety, you wouldnt have all those scary thoughts. Stop searching, learn to observe those thoughts like a bystander without judgement and without getting involved and they will lose their power and fade away to nothing. They are only thoughts, energy being released, which needs to he released. If you keep searching for a cure, you keep topping up your anxiety.

[foxglove in reply to Beevee]

Thanks...not sure I agree but I hope you've got the truth!

[Beevee in reply to foxglove]

It is the truth. If you haven’t already done so, read books written by the late Dr Claire Weekes or At Last a Life by Paul David (anxietynomore.co.uk) The more you search for answers and don’t accept that it is anxiety, the more you stay stuck in the anxiety / depression cycle. Believe me, I’ve been there and would still be there if I hadn’t read the books and started to practice Dr Weekes’ teachings and gaining more understanding of the anxiety condition from Paul David who recovered by following the exact same principle of accepting.

Searching for answers with an anxious brain can only bring one result! More anxious thoughts! You are trying to put out a fire with petrol / gasoline. All those “What ifs’ are just anxiety. It’s excessive energy being released that wants to be released. It isyour mind and body’s way of trying to recover from all that stress and strain you are putting yourself under but you aren’t letting it. You keep pegging back your own recovery by wrestling with your mind because you are scared of those thoughts and feelings or have a strong dislike to them (same difference). Your fear of them just adds more anxious energy which fuels more anxious thoughts.

If you want to quieten your mind, let those racing thoughts be there for as long as they like and learn not to engage with them. Let me assure you that those thoughts simply won’t be there when you do recover so why waste time now entertaining them and believing them? They are just a by-product of anxiety which is trying to leave you.

Hope this helps. It helped me when I was suffering badly with racing thoughts that scared the life out of me.

[foxglove in reply to Beevee]

Lengthy reply but does not ring true with I'm no fan of Clair or Paul, I'm amazed that anyone is. Not at all afraid of my thoughts - know that's what they . Think we'll just have to agree to differ. However pleased that you have YOUR answer. We're all different !!! Just the same an off switch would be good for when it's needed

[Beevee in reply to foxglove]

Sorry. I made the assumption that you suffered from anxiety.

[ciley in reply to Hidden]

yeah not alone and it makes me do stupid things too, i don't know how i get by at times like these

[Hidden in reply to ciley]

Hello ciley

Nice to meet you

It is amazing how we get through at times like these but somehow we do and I think having these Communities where we can talk with others that are going through the same feelings is a huge help , I hope you are finding that to

Take Care x

[Miniwheats]

If it's keeping you up at night, try (and I realize how corny this sounds) try counting sheep a la Flintstones style. I literally imagine a cartoon sheep jumping over a wood fence and I count each one until my brain can no longer expend the effort and I finally fall asleep! I usually get up to the 50s or 60's, often losing count and then that's it.... I'm gone. Or you could try listening to a guided sleep meditation on YouTube. I like the ones by Jason Stephenson.

[Hidden]

Hi!

I think that it's only something you can switch off when you know you are doing it. If you are aware that you are leading yourself into a period of just constant overthinking - only then you could try and stop yourself. It's important to acknowledge what is happening, that way you feel more in control. Once you know, you can come up with ways to slow it down and think more logically about the problem at hand! For example, perhaps taking deep breaths in and out or trying to do some mindfulness meditation.

How are you feeling today?

- Alisha