Random thoughts... anxiety?

[TheScript]

The thing that has been really bothering me lately is random thoughts or random words popping up in my head. My brain will just randomly starts thinking words, or about things i don't want to think about.. if that makes sense. And random thoughts will just pop up. When i try not to think of these thoughts or words i only think about it more and it pops up more.

Should i be worried?

[LollyPolly]

i've got this problem big time... to the point where it gets obsessive and into a vicious circle... the more i try to make it go away, the more they stick :mad: it's debilitating sometimes as t brings more and more anxiety and i can't focus on anything else...

acceptance is a good way to deal with them... just 'look' at the thought, acknowledge it and believe that although there is a possibility of it becoming true (like anything else there is always a possibility), it is a very remote one and very unlikely to happen and so not worth keeping it in mind ...

i read this somewhere and tried myself. it works but like most other similar techniques it requires work

[TheScript]

Thanks LollyPolly. Yes a vicious cycle is exactly what i would call it.

Do more people have this? Is it really anxiety?
It's so weird i keep repeating thoughts or phrases in my head, mind chatter.. it worries me?
Is this obsessive thinking or something else?

[LollyPolly]

yup sounds like it is. i sometimes get the a word which keeps repeating itself in my head in a loop and after the 3rd, 4th time thats it, i panic thinking that this is it, the moment i finally lose my mind... and then it of course goes away... but my anxiety doesn't and i get into the cycle again

but yes sticky thoughts are a common SE of anxiety and yours sounds exactly like that.

[SarahH]

Hi Guys,

Yes i call this "Shit FM"!!!! some times I wake up with it and cant shake it. A CPN in hospital told me to remember "It is only a THOUGHT" and our thoughts are quicker that our biological actions...hence if you accept that it is just "a thought" and let it go the physical symptoms of anxiety will not occur.....does that make sense????

Try looking at "Mindfulnes" it helps me stop "the thoughts"....

Sarah

[TheScript]

yup sounds like it is. i sometimes get the a word which keeps repeating itself in my head in a loop.

yes, that's exactly what i mean! It's so weird, and annoying. Thanks for your replies

[LollyPolly]

sarah i know this is not a subject to be laughed at but "shit FM" is just about the funniest thing i've heard lately! :bighug1:

thescript - hope this helped and we're here if you need us

[London_Girl]

I've had this for the past few days and it's really freaking me out. When my anxiety first started I had terrible mind chatter at times but this feels different somehow, my mind chatter made sense but now it's random words popping into my mind at random times. Last night the word "Otrivine" came into my mind and I was like "What the hell is Otrivine?!" and got myself really worked up with anxiety, expecting to start hearing voices any minute. I Googled that word and it turns out it's a brand of nasal spray but I never even recall hearing about it so I don't know how or why it would be in my thoughts.

Is mind chatter similar to thought insertion (a symptom of psychosis)? I mean mind chatter is still supposed to be recognisable as being generated by you, to my knowledge, but these random words are completely random to me, I can't make sense of them. This isn't happening all the time but when I does, I completely freak out. :shrug:

I don't have delusions and feel fairly sane, this is why it's so scary to me, it's like part of my mind is losing its sanity and another part of my mind is fine and feeling tortured by this.

Edit: I guess thinking some of my thoughts aren't mine is a delusion. What I meant was I don't think someone is planting them there or someone is controlling me, I get really anxious and am convinced I'm Schizophrenic when it happens.

[David22]

Bumped up as I'm curious about this too.

[PanchoGoz]

This is very normal, when your mind is tired from anxiety or stress, things stick to it "like flies on fly paper" and it loses it's reslience to push them out. It doesn't do you any harm. Happens to me often, but the reason it doesn't make me anxious is because I know it is normal and I treat it with amusement. Sometimes I wake up with a word in my head and I'm like what a great word man. Had "tabernackle" the other day, never looked that one up...