Music in my head

[headmusic]

Hi,
  I am a 49 year old male.  Within the past three years I have retired from the military and taken a job with a civilian company.  Within the past year, I have found that music is in my head every waking hour.  It's starting to get to me.  My home and work life are loaded with stress and I know that probably these elements have a lot to do with it.  How do I get rid of the music.  To get rid of the stress would mean finding another job and a life change with my family, not a good one either.  I have considered going to a mental health professional, but am just not sure yet.  I don't know how much longer I can wake up in the middle of the night with music pounding in my head and not being able to go back to sleep.  I know I need help.  I just need to see the road to get there.  Please help me.

[littlemonster]

yup, during very stressful times, i've had similar problems (i.e. the oreo cookie jingle repeating itself in my head for hours;  lots of disconnected imagery and sensless random connections rattling around up there like a cracked out alice in wonderland nightmare). no fun. but again, stress related.  it's like your brain is a snow globe that's been thrashed around and all this snowy detritus is stirred up.  i think it's a way your mind is trying to defend itself against an attack (which it is preparing for b/c it's responding to your high stress)--like it's dumping out all of its information all at once in a search for the right tool with which to defend itself against the (perceived) threat.

[Mlpnkobji_isnnatiy]

Hi, I seem to have the same problem as many of you. I've had this problem since I was 7-8 years old. I am a constant worrier/thinker and worry/think about everything. That new phone not having that feature, the state of higher education in my country, my grades, that scratch on that thing, yadda yadda yadda,'all seem to make me worried or make me think to the point of losing sleep. I'm just 16 and have been tested for a very  high iq even though my grades don't correspond in anyway to it (Is that normal?). Sometimes music plays so constantly in my head that I need to shout out loud to shut it off.
@overflowinghead
I tried your technique and it didn't seem to work.

[Dmon]

Everytime I awake a song plays... tottally random somtimes somthing recent and many times in a day I hear music in my head not influenced by external sounds/ music.    I used to listen to music all the time in my daily life nowadays I don't alot of the time not sure why... but I still  hear it in my head weather I choose to or not.  Over the last few months it's been more full on than usual like I'd wake to go to the loo and music would instantly trigger in my head :( im worried... Untill recently I persived my Internal music as a good (enjoyable) thing but it's starting to get way too much I can't help but feel there's somthing more and this is a syptom....  

[Jason5_0]

I have something weird. My name is Jason. I hear songs in my head. Not what you would think. I hear a beat and uncontrollably make a song out of it. Weather it is to rain or ticking of the A/C. And I get the biggest head aches. So I write them down. My room... My walls are covered in music. I am 16 and even though I have college scholarships to 6 universities, it drives me crazy. I play 18 instruments and I do this with them all. If anyone has information... Email me. ***@****

[songs repeating]

I have been searching and searching for someone who has a similar problem like mine. I realize the comment was posted a few months ago but I hope someone can help. I too have songs playing in my head most all the time. They repeat over and over and I can't stop them no matter how much I pray for them to stop. This thing is destroying my will to live. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but it has become torture and is destroying my mind. I am on alot of medication for anxiety. I have had an addiction to ativan in the past. I don't know what to do. When I am able to talk about this problem it seems to get better. But it gets to the point where I start to sound like a broken record. I have devoloped a phobia of music. I myself am a musician. Music is all I ever wanted to do in life. Now it has been taken from me. It seems that in society we are forced to listen to music repetively. On T.V. in shopping malls everywhere. The songs that play in my head aren't auditory hallucinations or anything like that. They are my own thoughts but still will not stop. My doctor does not seem too concerned about it. If he could only feel the hopelessness I feel. If anyone has heard of this thing and can offer some insight please e-mail me at ***@****.

[Knox]

With the tinitus, I started getting tinnitus about 8 years ago now. At the time it was disabling and a misery. I sought help, but there was no cure. After ages of scouring the internet I found a research article that found that tinitus often starts at a stressful time in someones life and then may or may not continue for the REST OF THEIR LIFE regardless of stress  
(I was in a VERY stressful work environment).
This didnt make me feel any better, but I had to do something. I couldn't just quit my job as I needed an income. I knew from past experience an antidepressant (tofranil) greatly reduces my stress levels. After discussing this with my Doctor he was happy to put me on it, and it worked extremely well. My stress reduced, my tinitus dissappeared entirely and never came back. I got another job about a year later.

This was a long time ago now, I dont know if there have been any developments since, but you need to act on the tinitus sooner rather than later - See a Doctor.

[headmusic]

It seems that the music in my head is related to my stress due to my job and my marriage.  I got a brain scan and I don't have any physical problems with my head.  Now, however, I have tenitus.  Constant music and noise.  I'm going nuts most of the time.  Thanks for all the advice and info.  It has helped me deal with it, but I have a long way to go.  Maybe middle age has something to do with it, I don't know.  I'll keep trying to control my thoughts, but it is so difficult.

[overflowingbrain]

Dear Musichead,

I have this problem. Lots of people do. It is a defense mechanism against painful memories, thoughts, fears. I developed this right after my divorce. I've had it for many years. There's something I do to relieve it: I lay down in a relaxed position and try to keep only one thing in my mind--the thought "don't move"--and try not to move at all. Do that for about 5 to 10 minutes everyday and you will see that you will start to gain more control over your thoughts. Try also thinking "Peace, be still". When you feel that you are getting overwhelmed, just freeze, stop on your tracks without thinking anything (except the "don't move"), and then re-start whatever you were doing in a concentraded way...

[LukeL]

I suffer from anxiety and often find that I have a song playing in my head over and over, or I have thoughts in my head about pointless things, like the news, histroical events, my interests etc. Which I repete over and over. These often keep me up at night and I can't get rid of them.

It is most likely stress related and getting some threapy will help you out, and if it is needed being on medication for a while might be beneficial.

[nosol]

Hello,

Just in case, I would agree with the above post and recommend that you see a neurologist as part of your work-up.   Specifically, have them perform an EEG test looking for any unusual, possibly seizure, activity in your brain.  The music in your head, while likely stress-related, could also be a sign of some structural abnormality.  Perhaps, you should also get an MRI of the Head.

Good luck!

[Christie2004]

This can also be a sign of a neurological problem.  Please do see a neurologist, too.

[headmusic]

I was in the Persian Gulf, yes.  But I don't think that this is the reason that I am hearing this music.  Not sure what is going on.  Only sure that I need help to combat this problem.  Thanks for the input.  I'm going to try and find someone to help me.  Thank you.

[arachnid]

Hmm interesting.  Were you ever in an overseas environment or perhaps war zone where music was often played to help against ennui?

http://www.kertera.com - mental health forums

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Don't hesistate to go to a mental health professional.  The music is the noise in your head that keeps you from thinking straight about your life stress.  When you talk it out with someone who is solution oriented, the music will stop even before you decide about taking any definitive action.