Can't Stop Thinking

[vanillacandles]

I often find myself thinking about events that have either happened on the present day, or in the past, and long after they have happened. It's like I get fixated on these thoughts, and I can't stop thinking about them, whether it's about if I did something wrong, maybe I forgot this, I should have said that, etc. Does anyone have any tips on how they cope with this repetitive thinking?

[evewisewoman]

Repetitive thinking is fairly natural. I think it's your mind's way of revisiting
an event, whether that is a recent event or an event in the past. You asked about ways to cope with this. Here's what I do. One thing I used to do when I was revisiting an event or something that happened, I tell myself, it's in the past. There's nothing I can do about it now. There's nothing I can do to change it. If you live too much in the past, you miss what's happening in the present. When I was younger, I used to replay in my mind a certain conversation. What I said, what he or she said. I came to the conclusion that it was futile. What's important is what's happening in the present, not the past. The past is just that. The past. If something particularly traumatic happened to you try and arrange to talk to a counsellor. Try not to worry
about the future. I'll conclude my post with one of my favorite says and wish you the best.  " God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  

[a_marie981]

I have repetitive thoughts but it usually revolves around my anxiety or depression or whatever caused me to feel those things.  I do however get stuck on certain thoughts and what could've been done to make things different or provide a better outcome or fix a situation.  The things I do to try to get my mind on something else are reading a book or something that I'm interested in learning about, watching a show or movie that grabs my attention, playing with my dog, talking to a friend about something unrelated or listening to their problems, I have started different hobbies that require my concentration so I don't get a chance to think about what's bothering me, writing in a journal about what I'm constantly thinking about-sometimes it helps putting it down on paper, and my last resort is talking to my therapist to work through it and get past it.  I can't say these things will definitely work for you but they help me out and it's worth trying something.  In my experience if you fill your mind up with something so you don't have the time to worry about something else it helps-I don't just use this for me but also for my patients at work and it seems to work for them-changing the subject and having an in depth conversation about something else gets your mind off of the matter at hand-not permanently but you do get relief and like I said if it's something I can't get past on my own talking to a therapist or counselor can help loads.  Hope this helps.