There have been times when I was in a mixed state and very unstable when one of my most destabilizing symptoms is rumination and racing thoughts. Those thought cycles tended to send me into severe suicidality and impulsivity. He would very actively have to work with me to stop and refocus my thinking on something else entirely because what my mind wanted to focus on and talk about was sending down a very dark and self-destructive path. He would tell me that we weren't going to go there at that moment as he knew the outcome in that current condition would be even further destabilizing. It helped to at least temporarily slow down my racing thoughts, lower my anxiety, and get me to a place where I could safely drive, get home, make it through another day. Sometimes I needed help stopping my thoughts and slowing down my speaking so that I could even be coherent with him and with myself.