racing thoughts

[Jervis]

Thnk you. I have constant racing thoughts. I either have music in my head or some elaborate scenario that has never happened to me and probably never will. These are not thoughts that make me panic. It is just that my mind has to stay occupied at all times. I am very freightened and am getting close to the end of my rope. I dont believe it is mania allthough that seems to be what my doctors think. I was diagnosed as bipolar in 1990. We have tried every medication I can thing of and nothing has even slowed the racing thoughts down in the slightist. Abilify, srequel, welbutrin, lithium, xanax, prozac.......I am currently takink Lithium again (600mg) depicote (800mg) and hakdol(5mg). I am very anxious all the time. very anxious. My nerves are shot, so to speak. Could this cause the racing thoughts? I am also dealing with some depression although it is not the catastrophic kind I suffered from in the early 90's. Pleas give any advice you can think of. I appreciate your time and patience.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

You have receive some wonderful advice from lin...instead of trying to medicate yourself into slowing the racing mind, try these and other techniques designed to quiet your   mind. If you go the medication route, you would probably have to be on so much that you would feel slow, but have an odd feeling about it.  

I would add another feature. A racing mind is always racing toward and away from something important.  Instead of being preoccupied with the superficial aspects of your life, try to go against the grain and dig into the deeper aspects of your life.  When get into that layer, the racing will stop, and you will be able to think more clearly.

[lin1983]

I know  exactly what you mean when you talk about racing thoughts. I don't have bipolar disease, but I am constantly playing music in my head, or running through scenarios that happened that day and what I should have said, or what I think may happen the next day.
I have found a couple of ways to rest my mind. One for when I can't sleep and a couple for the day.
When I can't sleep because of this problem I put a track on my itunes to play continuously. I have chosen a thunderstorm track. NO WORDS. That is very important with me. If it has a melody or especially words I get caught up in it for hours. Once I have my "white noise" on I picture a perfect white wall in my mind. An absolute blank. I meditate on it as hard as I can so that all of my mind is focused and nothing else leaks through. This sounds a lot easier than it is, but it works.

For resting my mind during the day I usually read. Get caught up in someone else's imagination for a while. I probably wouldn't be such a reader but for the hours of peace from my own mind that it has bought me. If you like horror, may I suggest the Anita Blake series.
I also will watch movies to quiet my thoughts, but most of the time I need to keep my hands busy too. I sew. Watching a movie takes both listening and watching to keep up with the plot, but sewing occupies my hands and takes attention to detail. The combo has given me endless hours of peace.
Hope something I have said helps, even if it's just knowing that you're not alone.

[robinh55]

Finally - someone else who is suffering from the same thing I am!  I can NOT get my mind to stop and it is usually a song - any song and I can't stop it.  I've always been a worrier and have a lot of anxiety but never had a panic attack or anything like that.  The thing that bugs me the most is that I can't read without my thoughts going in a different direction or music coming into play in my mind.  I can't retain much either and I have to read the same thing again and again.  I've been diagnosed with ADD but Adderall (adderrall) and Straterra didn't help much at all.  Now taking Klonopin and Wellbutrin but don't notice a difference in slowing the music and lack of attention.  My one doc treated me with psychosis medication and the side effects were so bad that I could barely function on a REALLY low dose after 1-2 days.  I'm so frustrated and don't know what to do and one doctor said it was bipolar (I don't have the highs and lows at all) or have diagnosed my racing thoughts as "psychosis NOS".  I've always felt stupid because I have a hard time learning and I think that I've always had this combined with a lack of attention.  Going to try another doctor and see what they think and also try some yoga classes to try and help my mind become a bit more calm.  Can't hurt.  

I've been searching the internet so much because docs aren't much help and just keep pushing different medication.  I don't care what they want to call it - I just want it to stop because it is causing me more anxiety which I think makes it worse and I'm SO frustrated and at the end of my rope with this!  

Thanks for listening and it is nice to know that there are others with the same issues.

[LeftCoastChick]

Hi There!
I always have music going in my head if I'm in an up mood -  but I never thought of it as a bad thing..  if I do the *internal scenario* - then I know it's something different. I  have tried to control those over the years.. mostly I can do it on my own with a bunch of self talk. .I hate when I can't get those thoughts out of my head, it's like a broken record or I worry about the "ifs and could happens".

I'm newly diagnosed as rapid cycling mixed episode  BP - so it's a weird yo yo every day, sometimes multiple times in a day, like today. . I am on 25 x3/day of Serequel  and  just started Lamacital 12.5 a week ago.

I am wondering if the Lamactil will help with stopping the broken record in my head? or will higher doses of Serequel?  and I have heard taking fish oils can also assist with main stream therapy? What is your take on it?
Thanks so much, LCG

[JustLooking]

Running thoughts mean imbalance.  It could mean you have a chemical imbalance, but most likely it is caused by stress, poor breathing, and lack of moderate exercise.   For stress, give yourself massages.  For breathing, practice deep belly breathing.  For exercise, go take a long walk every day, or better run and get the heart rate up by running.   Lastly, probably most important is practice single-point concentration.  That is train your mind to focus on one thing at a time.  Learn to keep the mind clear of garbage.  Like a cup filled with tea.  Just empty the tea from the cup.  Keep the mind clear with no thoughts, but just observation.   This is the buddhist way.

[lin1983]

Look, I don't know you but I've seen you post in a couple of forums that I've browsed. You have been giving some very bad advice like telling people not to talk to doctors, and then diagnosing people yourself with things like post traumatic stress disorder. I'm not saying that doctors have everything about the human mind or body figured out, or that a pill will solve everything (I prefer to stay off as many meds as I can and still be healthy), but telling someone that is troubled by thoughts that they have had for three years and telling us in this forum that we simply need to train ourselves not to have racing thoughts or bad thoughts, is not helpful or safe. You are diagnosing people yourself, telling people not to go to the doctor, and handing out advice (such as, just train yourself not to think like that) that is not helpful and could be potentialy dangerous when told to someone who is having "bad/violent" thoughts.


To the others in this forum: I am going to start either a tie chi (spell?) or yoga class soon. Maybe this will help? Who knows, but I'll tell you later. ;)

[BigDan875120]

I find your comments about distracting the mind to be very helpful.  I've been struggling with anxiety issues, and I find that the problem flares up when I allow myself to delve into the deepest recesses of my mind and indulge all the terrible "what if" scenarios.  When I'm reading or talking to someone or otherwise distracted, I'm not basking in the negativity that my mind seems intent on focusing on.

[terry1958]

Are we talking here about, what I would call, normal random thoughts? I'm not saying it's normal, from a medical point of view, but it's what I always considered normal. Many people have songs on the brain and can't shake them. Sometimes, I get a song in my mind that I just can't shake, or I try to think of the title of a song, and it stays with me all day. I think this is normal.

On the other hand, I find myself being inundated with 'racing thoughts'. I put it off on being "scatterbrained" LOL.

But, it's still troubling for me. I'm a very analytical type of person who has to figure out the whys and wherefores of everything. I play competitive poker and chess, and many times my sucesses in those games are hindered by racing thoughts. This, I don't consider normal, and is very stressful.

Does anyone see a difference here, and how I can cope with this?

Thanks for your time and understanding.