Get out of your own head

[Merle]

Hi I would just like to know how people get the worry thoughts off their mind. How do you stop thinking about things when everyone keeps telling you not to worry?? How do you think positive when everything feels so negative.

[Si1enzio]

Hello, I have trouble sleeping due to overthinking & what I normally do is listen to some calming music which helps. I think you just need to keep yourself occupied, do things you enjoy.

[smallwolf]

There are different way of doing what you ask and I will answer that shortly.

Without any tools that you can "use" it can feel like a descending spiral. Even with the tools these may not work every time - at least for me. 

Personally, I don't think it needs positive thoughts per se to overcome the negative. For myself, it is more like find a way to stop the negative thoughts. 

A person can use apps (on a phone), get ideas from books (such as "The Happiness Trap"), try out some mindful or grounding exercises or writing a journal. There is no one size fits all. For some of these I got from my psychologist. Some ideas from the book mentioned did not work for me. Have to work out what works for you.

What have you tried previously?

[ecomama]

Hey Merle, welcome to the forums. 

Is there stuff happening in your life that's worrying you? 

You ask a loaded question here lol. If the answer was simply communicated, anxiety would be cured the world over. 

I've found a lot of support from having a Counsellor. I had a few sessions with a trauma Psychologist for C-PTSD using Exposure Therapy. I don't take meds or "self-medicate".
My "cures" have involved far more than therapy. I've spent countless hours researching, changing my daily practices and I'm HAPPY to say that I'm doing super well now. 

Anxiety is usually THOUGHTS (ruminating thoughts) of the future. 

When you cognitively understand that your brain is falling into "default" HABITs of thought patterns AND you can change these feedback loops, you'll rise above them. 

You have to "interrupt" them when they occur as smallwolf suggested. 
Then divert them and REPLACE them with mentally healthier thoughts. Which in turn become HABITS. 
Takes some work! 

Notwithstanding that many people benefit from cleansing the mind and answering the questions of WHY we have developed these negative patterns of thought? It's often going back to our Family Of Origin (FOO), a trained MH therapist can help explore this with you. 
After this work, I developed & used my own strategies for when I'm not feeling happy. 
I can skip these now because I've used them "enough".

Now that I've done the work, my mind has opened up to AMAZING possibilities and anxiety has faded significantly. I can relax, sleep and feel at ease 99.9% of the time now. 

Wishing you the same
EM

[gloria10]

Hi Merle. It can be challenging when the mind keeps going and doesn't switch off. I've been dealing with this a bit lately, particularly with job hunting.

Firstly, have you considered counseling? Years ago I tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with a psychologist and its about training usual ways of thinking to challenge negative thoughts. I'm thinking about going back for that too.

I also find even taking small walks on nice days, resting when needed and meditation have helped me.

Smallwolf made a great mention of using different tools for managing anxiety. Have you used things in the past that have helped?

Gloria10