Help Stop Uncontrollable Thinking

[heartless]

I don't know why, but lastly I can't control and stop my thinking. It's like my brain thinks against my will and I can't control it. I'm afraid that if I keep on like that, I will finally run out, and get some kind of brainy diesease like Alzhaimer or any others. I'm thinking even when I do excercises, take a shower, am in the school, just everywhere. In addition, this thinking, is usually something I already thought about before, so basically there is no reason to think about it again. I also tend to think about thinks that aren't important at all or are pure imagination, and whenever I try to stop thinking it rapidly comes back without me asking it to come back. Thinking a lot and about everything used to give me a lot of pleasure, but now it's very unpleasurable, and not comfortable. I want to stop! Help...

Thanks,

 

[Astronuc]

Depending on age, it may be a temporary phase. If one is in early 20's or less, the brain is still developing - making new neural connections and developing new patterns.

Other than taking some type of medication, I would recommend learning meditation - i.e. learn to control one's mind and learn to empty the mind.

As for me, my mind is very active and I often experience what you describe, especially when I take a shower, or I am waiting, particularly when waiting to fall asleep. For me, that is normal.

 

[Rach3]

Drink less espresso.

 

[eggman]

I used to do that...sounds like nerves and energy...

Simply Ignore It :zzz: Resistance is futile

The very thing you wish to be free from,
Is the very thing that will set you free

 

[Rach3]

That's not a real signature!

 

[zoobyshoe]

"Racing thoughts" can be symptomatic of bi-polar disorder, or ADD. If it continues too long or starts getting out of control, causing insomnia, for instance, you might want to consult a shrink.

 

[wolram]

"Racing thoughts" can be symptomatic of bi-polar disorder, or ADD. If it continues too long or starts getting out of control, causing insomnia, for instance, you might want to consult a shrink.

Or get some mechanical devise and see is you can perfect it, when you think it is perfect use a magnifying glass to make sure, correct any tiny imperfections, but to be certain use a microscope, then chuck it in the bin
as it was not what you wanted in the first place.

 

[George Jones]

As for me, my mind is very active and I often experience what you describe, especially when I take a shower, or I am waiting, particularly when waiting to fall asleep. For me, that is normal.

This describes me, also.

While waiting to fall asleep, I sometimes solve problems that stumped me during the day.

I once took a vey long shower at my in-laws, and, when I got out, my mother-in-law asked me what took so long. I replied, "I had an idea, and I was thinking about it." This reply came close to putting her ROFL.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I once took a vey long shower at my in-laws, and, when I got out, my mother-in-law asked me what took so long. I replied, "I had an idea, and I was thinking about it." This reply came close to putting her ROFL.

Sounds very Einstein-esque. I can imagine there were many times he stood there in deep in thought, not realizing the water had run cold 15 minutes ago. :rofl:

 

[FrogPad]

It sounds like you have worked yourself into thinking about thinking. You were already constantly thinking, and now you are worrying about thinking, so in a sense you have taken it one step further and are thinking about the constant thinking.

You can help it in a natural way:
Have a healthy diet. Run or walk each day. Meditate. Start martial arts (there is something humbling about getting your butt kicked a few times a week).

You can do it through drugs:
Talk to a shrink, there are all types of drugs they will be more than happy to prescribe.

There are also a lot of suppliments you can take.
At least start taking a good daily vitamin.
http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2133771&cp=2167069.2325071&parentPage=family" is an excellent multivitamin.

Some other good ones are, fish oil, 5HTP, water, more water.

 

[JamesU]

This happens to me all the time...but it's not unpleasurable to me, making this reply useless...

 

[heartless]

It sounds like you have worked yourself into thinking about thinking. You were already constantly thinking, and now you are worrying about thinking, so in a sense you have taken it one step further and are thinking about the constant thinking.

You can help it in a natural way:
Have a healthy diet. Run or walk each day. Meditate. Start martial arts (there is something humbling about getting your butt kicked a few times a week).

You can do it through drugs:
Talk to a shrink, there are all types of drugs they will be more than happy to prescribe.

There are also a lot of suppliments you can take.
At least start taking a good daily vitamin.
http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2133771&cp=2167069.2325071&parentPage=family" is an excellent multivitamin.

Some other good ones are, fish oil, 5HTP, water, more water.

I didn't say that, it all actually started about 3 weeks ago when many people started to rest on me. I mean, they did so before too, but then I didn't care and refused all they asked me. I led a happy and careless life, I may say. I cared, but not about what people wanted me to care about. I cared about something else, which has no importance here. Here's an example, I solved all the questions without any problems, and my math teacher asked me to participate in some competition. I refused for very important reason (in my opinion) and I didn't care about competitions. Not a single one. And it was ok. Those 3 weeks ago, I had a long, long, long conversation with my english teacher. She just kept praising me, and then she said that all the teachers think of me the same way. I thought like I'm going to commit a suicide. I hate when people do that because that puts me in a position where I can't disappoint any one.

Then suddently she asked me to participate in essay competition, and for the second time I thought about commiting suicide. I felt stupid saying no, after all she said to me but I did say straight no. I can't participate in competitions, period. Then she gave me half an hour reprimand that I must stop, and change my behavior. I left without saying a word and since then on, I felt like I lost all my good life. Since that conversation, I can't focus on things. I can't relax any more and my body stays very tense and I cannot settle it down. I can't meditate, learn, I can't do anything. That's the time, when my thinking actually became unpleasurable and I started to have such problems.
And although I always have a respect for her, she became the only person in my life, I hate in a true meaning of that word. Out of all, this thinking is the most important of all, because I really liked it, It was like my good friend and always came with some good solutions, thoughts and ideas, and now I lost it.
I want it to come back!

Astronuc, thanks for good advices. I hope it's only temporary.
Rach3, I drink nothing, but water.
Eggman, It may be, but do you know how to stop it? I'd rather solve the problem that ignore it.

Thanks all, and I'm still looking for new responses.

Simply Ignore It Resistance is futile

 

[Math Is Hard]

If you are thinking about suicide, you need to tell someone besides us. Can you talk with your parents about this? A teacher?

 

[wolram]

You must be a hard ***, what you want is most important, if you cow tow
to every one then your life is in their hands.

 

[heartless]

If you are thinking about suicide, you need to tell someone besides us. Can you talk with your parents about this? A teacher?

Hehe, I don't think about suicide right now, I thought about it before for a short time, but that was only a temporary thought. It's rather about feeling very miserable and bad than about commiting a suicide. I'd never ever try to commit one, because there are other factors that keep me here, which are far more important than a single one which dis-satisfies a lot.

You must be a hard ***, what you want is most important, if you cow tow
to every one then your life is in their hands.

That's right. But feeling of fear, is worse than that. If I do something wrong, and unthoughful, I may lose the entire school year. She may fail me for any little reason and that's not good.

 

[Astronuc]

heartless, it may be worthwhile to learn to harness/control your minds energy. Zoobyshoe is correct that "racing thougths" can be a symptom of bi-polar disorder or ADD, but usually there are other symptoms, and both situations are treatable with appropriate medication.

I have ADD, perhaps even ADHD, but I was able to channel that energy into my academic studies in physics and then nuclear engineering. My biggest handicap is lack of proper organization. Maybe one of these days.

 

[heartless]

heartless, it may be worthwhile to learn to harness/control your minds energy. Zoobyshoe is correct that "racing thougths" can be a symptom of bi-polar disorder or ADD, but usually there are other symptoms, and both situations are treatable with appropriate medication.

It's quite weird, because I cover most of the symptoms of that bipolar disorder and basically all of ADD's. I'm not quite sure what the good definition of "racing thoughts" is, but after what I found on google, I don't really have them. I read about hundreds of ideas and thoughts at once, but I always think about one idea/problem/thought however sometimes I have hundreds of solutions to the problem, and that makes my brain explosive, and I wished I had screamed out and ordered my brain to stop, but actually never 've done it. I assume these, disorders aren't really bad, since even If I had them, I live normally, without any problems. Yeah, just falling into deep thinking seems to annoy other people and they often ask me, what was I thinking about, or telling me to stop living in a dream world, and yet my thinking dreams, and finds solutions and I like it.

Thank you all for finding some time and replying in this thread.

 

[Mk]

How can thinking be unpleasurable? I am in a constant state of your ailment.

 

[Danger]

Heartless, that was one of the good/bad symptoms of my ADD. It was very beneficial as regards multitasking, and was directly responsible for my being a fairly decent writer.
Unfortunately, it became progressively worse over the years, until it reached the point where I couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time. Also, it took me over an hour to get to sleep in the first place.
Other, worse, symptoms appeared along the way. Now, on medication, I'm pretty much normal (by PF standards :uhh: ). I can still think about a couple of different things at once if I want to, but it's controllable. On the down side, I haven't been able to write anything since.
It's up to you to decide when you think that you need help. I'd check with an MD before a shrink, to rule out a medical problem other than just brain chemical imbalances.

 

[heartless]

Hey Danger, I've just thought about it a moment ago, and I have a question for you. Were you able to find a job without any problems having ADD? Were you asked by people about some "health problems" and things like that? Tell me, Tell me!

Thanks again,

 

[Danger]

I guess that it depends upon what you mean by both 'trouble' and 'a job'.
I wasn't diagnosed ADD until I was 46, so it didn't really affect much before that, other than it prevented me from finishing high-school. The lack of an education really hurt. Other health problems were just as significant at the time, such as a bad back and a torn tendon in my knee. Soon after that, the arthritis started setting in. Anyhow, I started my own company when I was 23, so I was never really 'unemployed'. It was a money pit, though, so I worked other jobs at the same time. For 20 years I was a bartender, bouncer, waiter, night manager at a couple of bars. Also drove cab and pizza deliveries, then a couple of years doing screen printing and vinyl signage. All of that time, I was writing on the side. Now I just sit here playing on the computer. If a customer comes in, I cash his cheque or make a loan. (Okay... a few days each month I'm absolutely running my ass off; I'm the only one here, and I'm on 49 hours a week.) At home, when I can get some privacy from W's invading drunken relatives, I do graphic art for a different sign-maker than the previous employer.

 

[heartless]

Ok, but I guess to have a company at 23 you need quite rich parents or relatives to invest into your business. Anyway, what were you writing about?

 

[pallidin]

Assuming all else "normal", I think a key concept here might be "unresolved conflict", aka STRESS.

Speaking for myself, have you ever noticed how mentally "agitated" one tends to become when failing to pay a bill on time, or in failing to meet some other responsibility? Ever notice how that agitation is significantly greater when you "could" have easily done it versus "it is not truly practical at this time"?

That's one aspect. Another is "self-esteem"
When you feel bad about yourself with respect to your "goals" in life your mind is in conflict, sometimes severely. That's what happened to me.

A big one is how we deal with inter-personal relationships, be it spouses, friends, co-workers, bosses, etc...
If we do not take action with that type of issue effectively, our mind will ramble-on as to what we "could-or-should do"
Our mind wants ACTION. If we fail to act in a way that our subconscious deems appropriate for the circumstance and our personality, it keeps reminding us of the need.

Sometimes we find ourselves in an impossible or "catch-22" situation which can lower you sense of self. But learn to ACCEPT that some situations are beyond full control.
Let me give you a gross example, but one which clearly demonsrates a "catch-22":

I boil water for tea on the stovetop in one of those kettles which let's out a horrendous "whistle"
We have an alarm clock next my side of our bed which is just as annoying.
Anyway, when the alarm goes off, I quickly slap the "sleep mode" (so as to not awaken my wife) and get up to start the tea kettle, then back to bed until the "whistle" blows, and I race to the kitchen to lift the kettle so as to not disturb my wife.

Anyway, just the other day, the "catch-22" happened:
The whistle blew, and midway racing to the kitchen, the snooze alarm went off in the bedroom!

I paused for a brief moment. I think my mind was trying to figure-out how it might be possible to silence BOTH noises at the same time. But in reality there was no way. No matter which one I "turned-off" first, my wife WOULD be awakened by the other.

All I could do was think to myself, "Oh well", and choose the most annoying to deal with first.
In other words, in an active "catch-22" situation, the best we can expect from ourselves is to minimize the inevitable. The general impact or consequence can not be stopped. So, we need to be OK with that and NOT stress to a point of complete inaction, else the combined consequence is even more severe.

The more interesting aspect behind this, though, is that I CHOSE to potentialize a "catch-22" situation by enabling the "snooze" alarm and the boiling water in locations that would be IMPOSSIBLE to deal with if both events occurred at the same time while I was in the middle of both locations.

Enough of that boring story.
Anyway, we can somewhat parallel that story with life achievement goals and life-style.
For example, say your life achievment goal is such that it demands upon you an extraordinary amount of "free-time" and dedication to the goal.
Yet at the same time, let's say that you desire to raise children, or that your life-style is such that you just have to go to the "club" each night.

Can you do both? Sure. But is it really practical? No. You place yourself in a constant "catch-22" situation that you are constantly fighting to minimize negative impacts. Remember, you can't avoid the impact, all you can hope to do is minimize the impact.
And that varies from fairly manageable to impossible.

All in all, being at peace with ourselves involves dealing with our responsibilities and relationships to avoid "unresolved conflicts" and to avoid placing ourselves(or allowing ourselves to be placed in) the infamous "catch-22" situations.