Tips

[Random3]

I would love some help &feed back....

I've always thought I have been a bit ocd with thoughts, thinking in patterns or thinking if I don't do this then something bad might happen...I kind of got control of that.

every now & then I get random thoughts that I stew on for sometimes a few days sometimes a month eventually I get over it & think how did I ever think that. 

A few years ago I went into a depressive state over my thoughts, I got help & eventually got through it but now it is all happening again & I feel so much worse. I am getting help, but I just feel so deep in. I constantly am thinking, I wonder what that persons thinking, are they even thinking about their family or this or that, so ridiculous I know. I feel like I'm at work standing their & all the conversations are just going on around me, I find myself thinking why r u even saying that, I feel so withdrawn & feel like I have conplelty lodt my way of thinking & always questioning if how I'm thinking is right even when I am feeling fine.

I know this is happening as I just over think & I am getting help to try & improve this but any tips would be great. 

Not even sure if any of this has made sense to anyone, but I feel completely crazy & I'm scared I won't get out of this horrible feeling! 

[Sophie_M]

Dear Random3
Welcome to the forums; it’s great that you felt comfortable writing to us about how things are for you at the moment.
Firstly we wanted to commend you on seeking help already – it is great to have the support of a health  professional. Knowing that this help has worked before is also reassuring– even if it feels like you are on a bit of a rocky journey at the moment you have overcome these feelings in the past so you are well placed to do this again.
While we might repeat some of what your health professional has said there are a couple of key things that can help when you are overthinking things so we wanted to share them with you.
Firstly it is important to get in the habit of challenging your thoughts – how do I know that to be true? does that really matter to me? how else could I look at it? why would they be talking about me? While it can be hard to do this when you are stressed if you practice this each night you can build up these skills so that you are more able to use them as you need them. Perhaps start a journal of your thinking – write down what you are thinking and why, and think about other ways of thinking about it.  The more you practice the more you will notice your unhelpful thinking and be able to address it. There are quite a few templates online to help you to do this – or you could talk to your health professional about what resources they have to help you with this.
Then make sure you have things in your day that you enjoy and don’t worry about - it might be stopping for coffee on the way to work, or maybe going for a quiet walk at lunchtime? (Exercise is certainly a great way for many people to decrease their stress.) By building in times that you feel relaxed you will be more able to challenge your overthinking when it does come along. It’s a bit like when you are trying to get fit – you have to think more about the food you eat so that you have the energy for the exercise. When it comes to your thinking you need to get into good sleeping habits, eat well and ensure your week involves relaxing and enjoyable things so that you have the energy to manage your thinking. And remember, as you have in the past, your ability to
challenge or ignore your overthinking will get stronger and stronger.
The other thing that can be helpful is to have someone to run things by. Not necessarily to have a long debrief with but instead someone who could help you to clarify your thinking, for example you could say "I got the impression that they were referring to my work, is that what you thought they meant?' Your confidant can then give you quick feedback about their interpretation of the situation, offer reassurance and also help you to move on
if you perhaps overthought the situation. Of course this person would need to be someone that you trusted but maybe it is worth having a think about who in your life could perhaps offer you this honest but caring feedback.
And finally Random3 keep chatting to us. We have lots of people here facing similar challenges and together we can support each other, share ideas and listen to each others experiences. We all have our own journey to travel – that’s for sure – but we can certainly help each other along the way.