[Anonymous]

Okay so since yesterday morning, i cant stop looping this thought over and over. Its hard to explain because the thought is the actual thought itself. What i mean by this is like i would think of the thought, then i would think about the fact im thinking about the thought and so on, it just loops and loops and it really really beginning to annoy me.

ive done a bit of research and ive found some things like looping thoughts. its kinda like when someone says dont think about a pink elephant than all u can think about is a pink elephant. its like that but over and over.

I tried to distract myself by going out with some friends and it helped a little, i think i made it an hour without thinking about it but then i would think a little about it again. After a fair few hours of being out with my friends, i thought that i might have destroyed it and it had gone because i hadn't really thought about it so much. but now im home and its got worse than ever before.

Can anyone give me advise, as distracting myself seems to work but no matter what happened i have to think about it at some point. Its getting to the point where its upsetting me. The most weird thing about it is the thought has no description, its just the thought of having the thought lol, hard to explain.

Please can people refrain from stupid answers like i should cut down on drugs or something, as i certainly am not on drugs..

[marsman13]

What is the original thought? Try and deal with it at the root.

[Anonymous]

Its difficult to explain sorry, its just a thought about something, but that something is actually nothing. The problem is whenever i think about anything, this thought comes up again, its as if its the pain of thinking or working something out, but i have never experienced something like this before. I have my final A2 exams coming up so it could be a way of stress? I have dedicated a lot of time to these exams and so it may be a way of my brain telling me to slow down, i dont really know.

I think about something for about 2 minutes (not thinking about this thought at all) but then no matter what i do it comes back. The fact thats ive done this scenerio over and over makes it worse because its like its in my short term memory from now on. I notice that if i go decent periods without thinking about it, and then think about it again, its only there for a short period of time. The thing is i cant even experience the pleasure of not thinking about it because that would mean im thinking about it again, if that makes sense lol.

I went to bed last night hoping that this morning would be better, but i even was waking up in the middle of the night with just that on my mind.

Hopefully if i just try to enjoy myself a little tomorrow, distract myself as much as possible, i may feel better. but earlier it got so bad that i just didnt want to live anymore because of it (sounds pathetic i know but i will hate it

[Anonymous]

It's difficult to explain what it is. Its just the thought of thinking if that makes sense.

I have never really experienced anything like this before but it may be something to do with stress? I have my final A2 exams coming up and i have been really working hard for these. I have worked hard for all my a level exams and have never really experienced stress, just confidence really lol. Everything was going well, i was on target for very good grades in all my subjects and i was quite happy with the way everything was going in my life.

Now for some reason this weird thing has hit me and although it just sounds pathetic, its really horrible and is making me not want to even live anymore. The last hour or so has improved and i find that when i stop thinking about it and am distracted, it comes back within minutes. I cant even feel the pleasure of not thinking about it because as soon as i realise i havent been thinking about it, i am technically thinking about it.. if that makes sense.

I have also noticed that when i go decent periods without thinking about it, it comes back but only is there for a little bit, so i will try to just distract myself throughout the whole of tomorrow and just try my best to get it out of my short term memory. I feel as if its

[anonymust]

Okay Hi. So I 100% understand your looping thoughts, and I know they can be scary and incredibly frustrating. You feel like you're going crazy. And I've been through that. But the only problem is that it can actually drive you crazy, so you need to see a therapist. I see one, and it really helps. Your looping thoughts are a sign of anxiety, which is treatable, but it does need to be treated. What I have found that helps BESIDES therapy, is to simply stop giving a ****. Just say (for days, weeks, months), "I don't care that I'm thinking about it. I don't give a ****. Next thought?" And move on to something else. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about your thought. It's only a big deal if you make it one. It's as simple as simply stopping. Weird, huh? The brain is a crazy thing. Especially when it's its own problem. But we can overcome it!!! Good luck friend.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by anonymust)
Okay Hi. So I 100% understand your looping thoughts, and I know they can be scary and incredibly frustrating. You feel like you're going crazy. And I've been through that. But the only problem is that it can actually drive you crazy, so you need to see a therapist. I see one, and it really helps. Your looping thoughts are a sign of anxiety, which is treatable, but it does need to be treated. What I have found that helps BESIDES therapy, is to simply stop giving a ****. Just say (for days, weeks, months), "I don't care that I'm thinking about it. I don't give a ****. Next thought?" And move on to something else. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about your thought. It's only a big deal if you make it one. It's as simple as simply stopping. Weird, huh? The brain is a crazy thing. Especially when it's its own problem. But we can overcome it!!! Good luck friend.

Thank you for your advice. Yesterday before reading your post i did read some other advice which briefly helped, where i accepted that these thoughts were there but kept telling myself how they have no relevance to me, as there is no point trying to just pretend they're not there.

When did this start for you then? How long did it occur for and what did u think u was best to make you feel better? I cant believe its already been 3 days like this, because i remember the morning it began, thinking it would be a very brief thing. Now its almost day 3 and its still here.

Also, is there a name for this exactly? I don't really want to look at therapy for numerous reasons like i have no money.. If it were to continue for a long time and got worse, then i would begin to consider it.

[anonymust]

The name for this that I have heard is exactly what you call it. "looping thoughts". It's under the category of anxiety. As far as mine go, my thoughts were about an ex boyfriend who I was completely over, but for that exact reason, I began thinking about the idea of him. My brain would go something like, "I'm over him so I can't think about him but now I'm thinking about him so I need to stop but I can't so now I'm thinking about him I need to stop" etc. etc. etc. It went on for days, nonstop. And it wasn't about him. It really was similar to yours in that it was my mind that was the issue, not any external factor. What helped me is just telling myself that I didn't care if I thought about it. When you stop going "oh ****" every time you think about it, your brain doesn't put so much value on it and you stop thinking about it so much.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by anonymust)
The name for this that I have heard is exactly what you call it. "looping thoughts". It's under the category of anxiety. As far as mine go, my thoughts were about an ex boyfriend who I was completely over, but for that exact reason, I began thinking about the idea of him. My brain would go something like, "I'm over him so I can't think about him but now I'm thinking about him so I need to stop but I can't so now I'm thinking about him I need to stop" etc. etc. etc. It went on for days, nonstop. And it wasn't about him. It really was similar to yours in that it was my mind that was the issue, not any external factor. What helped me is just telling myself that I didn't care if I thought about it. When you stop going "oh ****" every time you think about it, your brain doesn't put so much value on it and you stop thinking about it so much.

Thanks i will try your things and hopefully it will fade. Its getting a little better since the last few days so ill just hope this continues. Thanks again.