Racing thoughts/brain chatter

Hello, I was wondering if racing thoughts or brain chatter affect anybody here, because Its a real problem for me, All the time I can hear noise in my head, and the most horrible, violent, graphic, disgusting, or inappropraite things pop up in my head, and I feel so guilty for thinking these things about people, or I get disgusted by the pure violence of my thoughts, as well as the fact I constantly have thoughts running through my head, masses of them, and I cannot control them, Its so hard to function, I can barely focus on what I need to do or what people are saying because of it. Does anybody else have it? And if so, how do you cope? Take care all of you x

I get this - a lot. For me personally, it's related to my OCD. Something horrible will pop into my head and I then have to perform a ritual to sort of cancel it out. Sometimes I become so preoccupied with NOT thinking about things that I think about them more and the cycle continues.

The best thing that combats it for me is relaxation and breathing exercices. I try to imagine a blank white wall and everytime a picture or thought starts to develop i get a brush and paint over it back to white. I also quietly remind myself that it is just a thought - it's beyond my control and that i should just let the thought come and go. We only remember things that we have a strong emotional reaction to - be that good or bad. So, by practising and eventually accepting a thought and letting it pass through your mind and move onto the next thought you don't have as much of an emotional reaction and you are less likely to have that thought again. It does take a lot of hard work and it doesn't always work but it certainly lightens the load for me and allows me to focus on other things a little better. Hope this helps x

I have this everyday and its crazy because I can be talking to someone and the bad thoughts come and they dont let me focus on nothing but the thoughts and I feel like screaming and loseing my mind and people think iam be rude saying like you not even listening to me .And Iam like Iam not rude these thought are taking over and are taking over.But I did went to the doctor for this and my t saids it just ocd and adhd and Iam like no way it can be that.Thanks 4 writting this so you know you are not crazy and alone huggs

I get racing thoughts more than brain chatter, these racing thoughts can be really disturbing at times and can really hinder my ability to concentrate or leads me to "space out" (as described by my friends) so i don't blurt out something inappropriate (even though at times i used to). I used to feel guily about thinking the way i did and thought i needed to somehow control the constant thoughts in my head like Peculiargroove said learning to let bad thoughts slide instead of focusing solely on them is difficult but can be done over time. I'll still occasionally react to some thoughts in my head by little tells such but that's still a vast improvement from my previous behaviour. Just so you know you're not alone.

when i first read this it was as if i had writen it myself!

i was diagnosed with ADD at around the age of twelve when teachers at school found it near impossable to deal with me in lessons i think at first i was thought of as "the problem child" as i was about the only kid in my whole year who didnt listen to chart music and dress like everyone else i was the wierdo kid lol!

now as a sufferer of adult ADD i am only just starting to cope with this disorder at the age of 33, the m main problem i have is that i still find it so increadably hard to focus on what people are saying to me though i can remember every word and detail of a private conversation i over heard at the bus stop between two old ladies about agnes's operation!!!

The best way i have found to try to teach yourself to focus is to use what you already love...by this i mean your interests/hobbies after all we are all good at something!

As for feeling bad about the thoughts that can pop into your head well i have come to realise there is no point feeling bad other people cant hear what you thought...and ok its possable that you blurted something out the thing with this is its all about how to "act normal and carry on"...take time before saying anything stop and think you cant stop the endless stream of chatter in your brain but you can stop it from acting out in life after all a shokingly violent thought about someone is one thing but then to act it out is another!

hope this helps!

It's actually weird, I've known about my ADHD for a long time now, and up until just recently I thought "brain chatter" was normal for everyone to be honest.

I think i may have gotten better at stopping brain chatter and racing thoughts by pushing myself more and more every time my mind drifts off. When my mind starts to wander from whatever I'm doing I have to push myself... I used to have to do it constantly, and even other people would yell at me and stuff to get me to focus, but now that I've been doing it for so long I hardly ever have to push myself to concentrate.

I hope this helps, but I know it can be frustrating. Just try it and be patient about it. Remember not to be too hard on yourself when your mind wanders.

it affects me all the time,mostly its just day dreaming from some book i've read,tv or movies, or something i've heard, tht leads to multiple stories all going around then i randomly don't like them and start back over, or i end up staring into space not hearing anything but not being able to concentrate. but when the death in the dreams happens my hans shake so i tell my friends to take the pencil,pen, or anything sharp away from me so that i wont act on my impulses and urt anyone or my self, or i just think about it only tring to stop the violent thoughts when it gets gory(i dont reccomend that AT ALL).
you should talk to someone about the dreams though
i wish you well

I can hardly sleep, and I have to fight for my night sleep because my brain wants to think, and analyze everything even when there's nothing to worry about. I get those "brain chatter" as you describe thinking nasty horrific thoughts as though you have a demon in your mind. I usually turn my brain channel to something else to keep me occupied and away from the brain chatter. The racing thoughts I haven't quite figured that one out yet, but I hate it; just a little less than I hate brain chatter, and both of them are high up on the list.

Remember: "That which is repressed will be expressed innappropriately."

You say you're hardly able to sleep due to brain chatter. Do you find that you miss the sleep you're not getting and you're tired afterwards? If not, it sounds like it could be bipolar causing that rather than ADHD. If on the other hand it eventually stops so you can get some sleep, and you're exhausted when you wake up, it could just be the ADHD.

Whatever the cause, I wish you luck figuring out how to make it go away! I find that Ambien helps at night.

My mind is always racing, too, and I also always thought that it was normal. If I am bored, it's daydream time! And sometimes those daydreams are worth writing down and turning into stories. So I always have a book with me or something to write with and something to write on. I have to be constantly highly stimulated intellectually to prevent boredom, so I keep myself hyper-preoccupied with classes and work and church. But how to organize those thoughts, especially at school and work??? And how to force myself to think about the things I HAVE to think about, like getting the bills paid and the mail answered and appropriately filed??? I haven't arrived yet as far as those things go.

Writing manually on real paper with a pen I find slows my mind down long enough to organize those thoughts, and many of those thoughts are worth writing down because they provide ideas for doing all those "executive functions" that are very difficult for us with ADHD, like planning. I also find that the act of writing things down manually helps me remember things I would otherwise completely forget.

I love red Gummi fish.

But anyway, if your thoughts scare you because you are afraid you might act on them, try journaling or turning them into stories. You might be the next Stephen King.

Or become a criminal profiler!

I like to try to write out short vignettes "in living colour," so to speak, and then eventually, when I have more time, turn it into a story. I have a few started stories which might someday get finished and published, but for now I am content with just getting them down on paper. I enjoy descriptive writing but don't really have the time or desire to try to write for a living yet. But it is an ability I have and enjoy.

If you feel angry or frustrated enough to act out the aggressive thoughts, then you really need some assistance managing that anger and aggression. My ADHD went undiagnosed for so long that I was operating at such a high level frustration all the time and all along I wondered why life was just so difficult all the time when I knew I wasn't "lazy, stupid, or crazy," as someone has said. Dont keep the anger in, and don't wait for it to explode.

I have a lot of trouble sleeping, too. I usually go until I am exhausted and HAVE to sleep. It's really extremely difficult for me to stay on any kind of a schedule, even ON Ritalin!! So Ritalin isn't helping me sleep any better, but it is helping me focus a lot better.

I experience racing thoughts too. When you say "brain chatter" what do you mean by that. Do you feel as if there is conversation occuring? Do you ever feel llike something/someone is speaking to you (though it is in your mind and not audible--it comes through as a thought. Just wondering because I experience it everyday and sometimes is gets to be too much to handle.
have you been diagnosed with anything else besides ADHD? Take any other meds? I have been diagnosed with Bipolar and take Abilify, also take Ritalin for ADHD. I thought maybe the Ritalin was the culprit, but it happens even when I don't take it. I am starting to look into other explanations for this torture, as no medication has been able to take it away. I have found some very interesting info about people suffering the same thing that got relief through unconventional means--
Hope to hear back from you.
Take care!

Flowers, who is the "you" that you are talking to and hope to hear back from?

Google mindfulness, it has really helped me to quiet my brain, and relax enough to fall asleep.