Racing Thoughts

[louise0501]

hey, i keep having these racing thoughts, it's kinda hard too explain but i will be doing something and then all of a sudden, this thought will come into my head and the thought is "I will be old and die one day" and then i almost wanna throw up. it's a really scary thought and although i know its true, it's not a thought i want to haunt me in the way it does. it's been going on about a week and i can't take much more, i just want it to go away. can anyone relate? any advice for getting rid of this awful thought?
Please reply
Love Louise xx

[louise0501]

i'm guessing i'm not talking much sense since no one has replied.
Please reply
Love Louise

[nomorepanic]

Louise

Read the section on here about thoughts

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/NMPcms.php?nmppage=symptoms

Also if you scroll down to the bottom of this page there are "similar threads" to read as well.

[louise0501]

thanks nicola.

[tonkaboy]

Hi Louise,

Just spotted your thread. Don't worry, horrible thoughts are one of the ways anxiety rears it's ugly head. I find it the worst aspect to be honest.

You'll find lots of advice on NMP as it's such a common symptom. People will tell you, correctly, that the more you try not to think about something, the more you think about it. It's absolutely true. If I said don't think about a Pink Elephant, what are you now thinking about?

I try to leave the thoughts alone and just say to myself, 'oh, there goes anxiety again' and carry on with what I want to do. Try to distract yourself by doing something that you enjoy and is absorbing. Try not to have time on your hands as that's when anxiety starts to fill the void.

It's not easy, granted, but trying not to think a thought does not work.

Anxiety seems to home in on the things that you fear. Growing old is not something anyone likes to think about but it is a fact of life. My biggest fear is behaving badly and so that's how anxiety plagues me at the moment.

I hope this is of some help to you. You are most certainly not alone. Take each day as it comes and try to relax, if you tackle the anxiety and stress, the thoughts will diminish.

Best wishes.

A

[emma81]

Hi Louise

I get a lot of racing thoughts when i am in a situation or know i have to go into a situation where i feel i could have a panic attack. I have thoughts that race through my head over and over telling me that i cant do it, i must stay home, something terrible will happen to me etc etc

But i also have times quite a lot where i am just sitting at home and suddenly i get a thought completely out of nowhere and it goes round and round, it could be something quite ridiculous or something more serious, either way my mind seems to obsess over it and i cant stop thinking about it once its in my head.

As the poster said before me, i am trying to learn it is just another symptom of anxiety and i am trying to say to myself "oh just shut up" when i hear a thought getting out of control in my head.

If you need to chat more im here just pm me
Emma :)

[judipat]

Hi Louise

I suffer with racing thoughts also - drives me crazy!. Sometimes i feel that my brain is going at a million miles an hour, jumping from one subject to another to another. Then sometimes I get something stuck, and go over and over and over it in my mind.
One of the best examples of this is on this site - a therapists asks his patient to "think of the colour yellow" - the patient thinks of a million things, butter, corn, ice cream, daffodils, lemons - the list goes on and on, until the therapist says - "i only asked you to think of the colour yellow!!!!".
The only way to slow this down is to do everything deliberately slowly and only think about the task you are doing - this is not easy, I know. This is why, when we are anxious, it is very difficult to concentrate on watching TV or reading a book etc
Hope this helps.

Take care
Judi