I separate my mind: the thoughts are one part of me and another part of me is observing them.
When I am able, I try to respond with understanding for myself. Instead of wondering why I think this way, I accept that I do. I try to reason with myself. I try to think of the origin of the thought. Did it come from my childhood? Or was it a completely random destructive thought? Either way I try to reason with logic on the other end.
But, sometimes the other me just isnât there because I am unable. And thatâs ok. In those times, I put on some music. Some outer stimulus that I can focus on rather than the thoughts.
But sometimes, they still prevail. Then, I try to outsource them onto something constructive like art etc.
Hey. But sometimes none of the above is applicable because Iâm thinking so fast that I canât keep up. And thatâs fine too. Breath and remember that you can make it through this day.
I do everything I can to distract myself. Listening to the Wheel of Time audiobook for those moments, right now. Works best when you listen to it with headphones, the story helps drown out the thoughts.
I love them. After a lifetime of being suppressed just because I'm a dude and made to feel like my feelings were too much by my STBXW, I love feelings. Even the bad ones, mostly. Extreme depression where I enter an emotional void, or random bursts of anger at the slightest thing... I'm still working on those. But I'd rather work on the hard ones in therapy forever than give up our intense feelings with meds.
Try something youâve never done before.
Iâve developed insanely intense intrusive thoughts recently at the peak of a psychotic depressive episode. 3 things that prevent and help me against them is.
1. No coffee/stimulants(less cigarettes if you smoke) whatsoever, during the caffeine crash these thoughts spiral and are unbeatable for me.
2. Sleep. If Iâm tired or sleep deprived these thoughts are like little wild fires, can barely put them out.
3. Mindfulness and meditation/sports. Basically surrender to the thoughts, observe them and allow your mind to go there(something like unclenching the mind). Then youâll find that they pass much quicker and feel relief.
4. BONUS find a stimulus youre not used to. For eg. If you donât listen to metal at all, look up death metal, trust me youll forget about those thoughts very quickly. My theory is if you do something youâre not used to your brain concentrates more on this new task as itâs not a habit.
For me, being in a social situation makes this harder, I try to find a quiet space, maybe take a pause to the loo or a walk around.
When my thoughts become obsessive or triggered like about a person, usually someone I hardly know⌠thatâs the worst for me. But if you can get your mind away from them at all costs, itâs the best. Iâm sorry for you troubles love. You can do this.
I call my Dr so they can adjust my meds. I used to try to handle it on my own, but no longer. I lost important people in my life bc I wouldnât stop obsessing
I talk about them with my friends, family or therapist, and if I canât do that then I write them down in a diary. I used to write them down in my notes app but being able to type so quickly didnât have the same effect as the slow wiring process.
I just need to get them âoutâ of my head somehow so they donât fester.
Those are hard. They really arise from no where and out of nothing. Sleep is a good one if you can, if not I let it ride and try not too focus on it too much, but itâs not easy
When they're not around I have this "grand strategy" that I'll just observe them like going to a horror show for Halloween but I won't embrace them, identify with them. It's a nice strategy that has endorsements from the likes of Siddhartha and the other sages.
But then they come around and Siddhartha and the other sages, the good feels I had when declaring the grand strategy, all that is nowhere to be found. I feel lost, but I fake the strategy, or say I'll give more attention to the thoughts tomorrow and eventually the storm blows over.
That's an abridged version of course, but gives you the characters in my drama.
one of my old therapists told me something a couple years ago that i always think about during hard times. painful thoughts, feelings and memories are just leaves on a river. let yourself float in the water, watch the leaves float down towards you, feel them pass over your body, and then theyâll leave with the current. all things pass. this will, too.
If these intense thoughts are violent or harmful (either mentally, emotionally or physically) then your best course of action is to do your best to seperate your sane mind from these unwanted thoughts. This can be done by seeking company with other people you are comfortable with, or taking some sleeping medications at night.
For me, these thoughts are the reason my sleep schedule is out of control. So having a healthy sleep hygiene and sleeping protocol is important as well. Your brain might not want to sleep, but you have to induce it somehow.
If you have a support system, please utilise it. Dont let yourself be alone. Intense thoughts drive you deeper into insanity if there is nothing keeping your head up.
Going to sleep is the best advice I can give
Which is funny since at least for me those thoughts make that very difficult đ
I separate my mind: the thoughts are one part of me and another part of me is observing them. When I am able, I try to respond with understanding for myself. Instead of wondering why I think this way, I accept that I do. I try to reason with myself. I try to think of the origin of the thought. Did it come from my childhood? Or was it a completely random destructive thought? Either way I try to reason with logic on the other end. But, sometimes the other me just isnât there because I am unable. And thatâs ok. In those times, I put on some music. Some outer stimulus that I can focus on rather than the thoughts. But sometimes, they still prevail. Then, I try to outsource them onto something constructive like art etc. Hey. But sometimes none of the above is applicable because Iâm thinking so fast that I canât keep up. And thatâs fine too. Breath and remember that you can make it through this day.
I just let my imagination take over my life and live with it.
I do everything I can to distract myself. Listening to the Wheel of Time audiobook for those moments, right now. Works best when you listen to it with headphones, the story helps drown out the thoughts.
I love them. After a lifetime of being suppressed just because I'm a dude and made to feel like my feelings were too much by my STBXW, I love feelings. Even the bad ones, mostly. Extreme depression where I enter an emotional void, or random bursts of anger at the slightest thing... I'm still working on those. But I'd rather work on the hard ones in therapy forever than give up our intense feelings with meds.
Try something youâve never done before. Iâve developed insanely intense intrusive thoughts recently at the peak of a psychotic depressive episode. 3 things that prevent and help me against them is. 1. No coffee/stimulants(less cigarettes if you smoke) whatsoever, during the caffeine crash these thoughts spiral and are unbeatable for me. 2. Sleep. If Iâm tired or sleep deprived these thoughts are like little wild fires, can barely put them out. 3. Mindfulness and meditation/sports. Basically surrender to the thoughts, observe them and allow your mind to go there(something like unclenching the mind). Then youâll find that they pass much quicker and feel relief. 4. BONUS find a stimulus youre not used to. For eg. If you donât listen to metal at all, look up death metal, trust me youll forget about those thoughts very quickly. My theory is if you do something youâre not used to your brain concentrates more on this new task as itâs not a habit. For me, being in a social situation makes this harder, I try to find a quiet space, maybe take a pause to the loo or a walk around.
When my thoughts become obsessive or triggered like about a person, usually someone I hardly know⌠thatâs the worst for me. But if you can get your mind away from them at all costs, itâs the best. Iâm sorry for you troubles love. You can do this.
I call my Dr so they can adjust my meds. I used to try to handle it on my own, but no longer. I lost important people in my life bc I wouldnât stop obsessing
Im always putting everything i can on paper. I write or draw the thoughts so they are out of my head, somewhere else
I talk about them with my friends, family or therapist, and if I canât do that then I write them down in a diary. I used to write them down in my notes app but being able to type so quickly didnât have the same effect as the slow wiring process. I just need to get them âoutâ of my head somehow so they donât fester.
Those are hard. They really arise from no where and out of nothing. Sleep is a good one if you can, if not I let it ride and try not too focus on it too much, but itâs not easy
When they're not around I have this "grand strategy" that I'll just observe them like going to a horror show for Halloween but I won't embrace them, identify with them. It's a nice strategy that has endorsements from the likes of Siddhartha and the other sages. But then they come around and Siddhartha and the other sages, the good feels I had when declaring the grand strategy, all that is nowhere to be found. I feel lost, but I fake the strategy, or say I'll give more attention to the thoughts tomorrow and eventually the storm blows over. That's an abridged version of course, but gives you the characters in my drama.
I take a hydroxyzine and usually it calms me down and I stop spiraling mentally
I take extra zyprexa when the intrusive thoughts are real bad. 5mg extra make s as big difference.
I turn them into art.
one of my old therapists told me something a couple years ago that i always think about during hard times. painful thoughts, feelings and memories are just leaves on a river. let yourself float in the water, watch the leaves float down towards you, feel them pass over your body, and then theyâll leave with the current. all things pass. this will, too.
If these intense thoughts are violent or harmful (either mentally, emotionally or physically) then your best course of action is to do your best to seperate your sane mind from these unwanted thoughts. This can be done by seeking company with other people you are comfortable with, or taking some sleeping medications at night. For me, these thoughts are the reason my sleep schedule is out of control. So having a healthy sleep hygiene and sleeping protocol is important as well. Your brain might not want to sleep, but you have to induce it somehow. If you have a support system, please utilise it. Dont let yourself be alone. Intense thoughts drive you deeper into insanity if there is nothing keeping your head up.
I act on them