I hear crazy voices.
When I turn off the TV they go away.
If Billy, aged 7, claimed his imaginary friend wanted to have dinner with the family, would you set a place?
Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. A new theory aims to make sense of it all.
Verified by Psychology Today
by Patricia Harteneck, Ph.D.
Racing thoughts—fast, repetitive thought patterns about a particular topic—are a common feature of anxiety and other mental-health disorders. But they can happen any time you are in an anxious or stressed state, even if you are not experiencing other symptoms.
Racing thoughts may be replays of past events which generated anxiety or sadness for you. They may also be worries about things that could happen in the future. They are strings of thoughts that are blown out of proportion, have a pattern, consume time, and often have no rational conclusion.
They can look like this:
"I always forget what I have to do. I'm so stupid. If I don't remember everything, I'll get fired. I don't know what I'll do if that happens. I should have taken that job I was offered six months ago. If I lose my job, I won't have any money. I need to work longer hours to keep this job. That just makes me more depressed. I'm so miserable. What am I going to do?"
When thoughts like these flood your mind, they drain your energy, stop you from living in the present moment, and can create a loop in your brain that feels difficult to escape. They can also make it harder to concentrate and accomplish daily tasks, and impair your memory and sleep.
Having racing thoughts is often disturbing and frightening because it creates a sense of being out of control. But having racing thoughts does not mean you're out of control or crazy. It does mean that you are anxious and that your stress level is higher than usual.
Here are some ways you can work to calm your mind and stop racing thoughts:
1. Use cognitive distancing.
Our mind usually worries about things it is convinced are true but, most of the time, are actually not true. You can balance your mind's tendency to predict the worst outcome by coming up with positive alternative scenarios. For instance, your spouse seems distant and is sending out a lot of emails. You decide he must be having an affair. An alternative scenario: He is working extra hard on a project. Analyze what's most likely to happen. Most of the time, the worst-case scenario your brain comes up with is not the most likely one.
2. Use a mantra.
A mantra is just a simple phrase or word that you repeat to calm your mind. Research has shown that repeating a mantra reduces activity in the part of your brain that is responsible for self-judgment and reflection. This is the part of the brain that spends so much time rehashing the past and worrying about the future. You can use any word, sound, or saying you want. You could try something like, "Om," "Life is good," or "Everything is OK." Repeat your phrase over and over, focusing your thoughts only on your mantra. If your mind wanders, return to your mantra. You can practice this almost anytime, even going around the supermarket or on your commute home from work.
3. Focus on the present.
Returning your focus to the present will help you accept and let go of what you cannot control. It will also help you realize that you can't change the past, and that the future hasn't happened yet, so it's a waste of time to keep thinking about them. (This doesn't mean that you are unaware of what happened in the past or what is about to happen in the future.) Try taking a deep breath and asking yourself how you are feeling right now.
4. Write things down.
Putting your concerns on paper allows you to return to them later. You don't have to dismiss them entirely, and you can feel comfortable knowing you will revisit the concern. Also, the act of writing engages your mind and reduces the power of racing thoughts. When thoughts are in your mind, they feel chaotic. Putting them on paper organizes them. Use a notebook or a designated computer document. Once you've taken a few minutes to organize your thoughts on paper or onscreen, your mind should be calmer. If you want, set aside a time limit for thinking about them before taking a break and coming back to them later.
5. Breathe.
This shifts the fight-or-flight response of your sympathetic nervous system to the relaxed response of the parasympathetic nervous system. Try counting to 3 as you breathe in and to 5 as you breathe out. Pay attention only to your breathing as you try to slow it down. Your mind will wander, but just bring it back to your breathing. (See more tips on breathing exercises here.)
It takes time to develop new habits. Whichever of these tools you use, it will take regular practice over a long period of time to see results. Unfortunately, many people expect the effects to be immediate and abandon the practice too soon. Instead, be consistent and patient. And If you find that you are not able to get racing thoughts under control, consider consulting a mental health provider. Anxious thoughts can be part of a mental health disorder that professionals can treat effectively with psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of the two.
I hear crazy voices.
When I turn off the TV they go away.
If Billy, aged 7, claimed his imaginary friend wanted to have dinner with the family, would you set a place?
Getting excited about such thoughts and waiting for them and
acknowledging when they arrive, makes them lose their control!
It is like watching movie.
Just stop and watch and see how far they can go....and then
laugh about it as if it is a broken record!
Do that often and "they" got bored with you...and find
another person to annoy....
Dogs that is an interesting theory but if might just work, thanks
Don't fight the thoughts. Let them pass through your
mind. Feel the negative feelings don't fight or resist
them. They will dissapate like a shadow on a wall
dissapears.
Tinnitus is PTSD. If we don't get tickled, we will have no feelings!
Anxious for the past two days after a "date" with a woman from college. Playing the waiting game until she contacts me. I might be letting her into my heart-or head?- too quickly. Aghhh!! The racing thoughts!
Who are you to decide which thoughts are true and which ones are not? For example, what if a person thinks, "my spouse is abusive because s/he hits me, and that makes me upset?" What are you supposed to do, just live in denial and pretend that it's all in your imagination? Unconditional positivity is just as unrealistic as unconditional negativity, and sometimes more dangerous. Why not err on the side of caution and listen to your instincts? You'll be safer that way, and you won't feel patronized, gaslighted, or incapable of "thinking right."
I want to hang myself every day,these guides are pretty useless when you feel absolutely useless and even things like saving money are light years away.hate it when "experts" give advice on subjects they have no clue about.
Please know that there are people ready to listen and help at any hour on any day. Just send a text to the Crisis Text Line at 741 741 or reach out for help from a trained professional in your area, which you an find on Psychology Today's therapist locator tool. If you are concerned that you are going to hurt yourself, please go to your local emergency room immediately.
There is help and you can feel better.
These are only helpful in getting them to stop. Once I stop these 'coping techniques' the thoughts come back. None of these things last.
wow such a great article i am also infected with this kind of thing so i was looking for this thanks
I keep having negative thoughts and im having trouble with the exercises. I have schizoaffective disorder. They keep telling me to tell the truth... I dont want to tell certain things. Im also pregnant and worried about that as well. I found out how far along i was and that i was pregnant a few weeks ago and im going in today for my tests. I'm extremely nervous. The thoughts arent going away
Rachael, Postpartum Support International has a warm line where you can connect with mental health professionals who specialize in working with pregnant and postpartum women.
1.800.944.4773
Hey, Pat.
Please do not put this jibberish out there any more. We have been working as a team here.
You know that distractions are helpful, but you also know, and please here this that racing thoughts speed up a person's system. They do not drain energy.
Look, we both know, that this mag is a supermarket tabloid. But let us put out real information here.
I will, under my psydonym, fix this. Drugs, alcohol, Music, TV, or Videos help slow a person and drain them.
We have talked about this, and that a balanced lifestyle help a person better than anything else.
In fact, we will also put out a series, Dan might send it in. About Sexual Narcissism. They use the same stimuli every time, and never slow down their thoughts. They become expasperated just to slow themselves down.
Please, Pat help the helpers.
I'd been feeling scattered and stupid lately and couldn't remember much of anything, especially word retrieval! So embarrassing. So I tried Cellvamp Supplement and really liked it. I could tell it was starting to work right away and I haven't had what we call a "brain fart" since I started using cellvamp supplement. Yay! I highly recommend it and I'm going to give my husband a supply as well. No more blank looks.
Pretend the worst case won't happen and then when it does? Never an answer from "professionals" for that but when we are seriously anxious and depressed that's the advice we are given. Got to a professional for some scientifically proven to CBT. Trump happened. Now what? How can I still think CBT works? That was a worst case scenario that seemed impossible but it is real and scary and therapist don't give advice for that. Of course when you are an autistic grown women they think CBT will let a for that, too. Useless.
I found this article very, very useful. One of them does the trick. How kind of you to share your advice. Thank you.
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