Intrusive Racing Thoughts, how to cope with them ?

new32234

Does anyone have any advice that has gone through intrusive thoughts ?

My thoughts are distressing to me.. through online research I've done I found is to try ignore them as if you stress & think about them they'll be stronger in other words you'd be feeding the thoughts by doing that. Can be a vicious cycle.

Can be hard to ignore if they cause huge stress though..

Does anyone have any suggestions ?

Thank you

waynerooney

new32234 wrote: »

Does anyone have any suggestions ?

Thank you

First... A doctors advice would be beneficial.

A good thing to notice, is that you are probably believing the thoughts as if they were fact. Who says they are true? I bet nobody is telling you (other than yourself) that the thoughts are true.

Also, chances are that you are more afraid of how the thoughts make you feel, as opposed to the thoughts themselves. For example, I used to feel my face flushing and other physical sensations. This used to compound my belief that the thoughts were significant... when in reality, the longest they last is a few minutes... like pure anger.

johnml

waynerooney wrote: »

First... A doctors advice would be beneficial.

+1

new32234

waynerooney wrote: »

First... A doctors advice would be beneficial.

A good thing to notice, is that you are probably believing the thoughts as if they were fact. Who says they are true? I bet nobody is telling you (other than yourself) that the thoughts are true.

Also, chances are that you are more afraid of how the thoughts make you feel, as opposed to the thoughts themselves. For example, I used to feel my face flushing and other physical sensations. This used to compound my belief that the thoughts were significant... when in reality, the longest they last is a few minutes... like pure anger.

Oh no I don't think they are true they're just stressing thoughts to have..

I don't mean to feel sorry for myself, but if you're intrusive thoughts we're only for a few minutes then you got off lucky.

I'll give an example, say you're on your way to work & you have this intrusive thought that you're going to crash the car. While you're in the car this thought might last 30 seconds to 1 minute. A nice song comes on & the thought goes.

When you arrive in work & you go to clock in the intrusive thought of crashing your car comes to mind again even though you're not in the car.

You go to the cafeteria to get your first of tea/coffee & thought of crashing the car comes to mind again.

30 mins at your desk intrusive thought comes again.

Might leave you for 3 hours, but at around 12pm the thoughts of crashing the car come again.

& so on

And this continues for the rest of the day.

And this is everyday, of every week of every month of every year. That's what I'm going through.

new32234

johnml wrote: »

+1

I've been to doctors & in a mental health ward & everything.

I just sense I'm going to have another mental health collapse again.

Should I get myself down to A&E before the collapse happens or wait for the collapse ?

new32234

Does anyone have any other advice or suggestions for me please ?

johnml

new32234 wrote: »

Does anyone have any other advice or suggestions for me please ?

Sorry to hear this is happening op. There really isn't any other advice people here can give you apart from advising you to see a professional. Some hospitals with psychiatric departments will see you directly, saves you been triaged in a + e and then been referred to psychiatry.

Honeydew3456

new32234 wrote: »

Does anyone have any other advice or suggestions for me please ?

Sorry op, I have no experience of this but as a short term fix do you practice minfulness? Are there certain audios you can listen to when these thoughts start?

After the last visit did the doctors provide you with any after care techniques you can revert to at this point? I think you should make an appointment to see a professional before a collapse.

Redser87

CBT may be beneficial to you. Aware does an online course which I believe is based on CBT techniques. In the meantime, it can be helpful to ask yourself 3 questions:
1. Is this thought true/important? If yes:
2. Can I deal with the thought right now? If yes:
3. What can I do about it? It can be helpful to vocalise or write your solution, rather than just think about it, as it can then become your new racing thought.
If the answer to 2 is No, have a menu of helpful distractions. You've mentioned music, but taking a quick walk, doing stretches at your desk, making a cup of tea, breathing exercises, visualisation exercises etc can break the cycle and don't have to be time consuming.

ILoveYourVibes

Do talk to a doctor. And ask to see a psych. Its a specialized area.

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silent_spark

I’m sorry you’re struggling with this at the moment, OP. It’s something I have recurring issues with, usually at night, and concur with much of what the previous poster has said. A therapist specialising in CBT may be helpful.

wiggle16

Mod:

Thread locked at OP's request.