[autotelica]

I have not been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but I believe that my racing/repetitive thoughts are much more "bipolary" than "OCDy"--which is what my shrink it is. The reason I say this is because of my family history and the fact that I don't feel any anxiety. But I don't think it matters, ultimately. The thoughts are incredibly annoying and I'd just like them to go away.

The other day it felt like I had white noise in my head. "Brain fog", I guess is another way of describing it. Where, instead of water droplets like in regular fog, it's pixels of thoughts. Swirling around and crashing into each other.

I started on Paxil. The side effects are so horrible that I am just not strong enough to continue it. I can't bear the thought of putting up with these symptoms for a month before seeing any positive effect.

Anyone taken anything that's been effective? Any alternative treatments?

Sorry to not be able to really answer your actual question..except to answer a question with a question that is...
Effective for what? I'm guessing the repetitive thoughts or... brain fog or well, both would be nice, eh?
You're right in saying it probably doesn't matter what it gets called so much as figuring out something that works for it.

I have both, as it happens (though the BP has the greater negative impact on my functioning) and... a given thing can cause me greater or lesser amounts of anxiety. It doesn't constantly produce the same level (for me anyway), so.... sometimes I might think, "Oh, that's not really stressing me out so much right now", but damn if I'm not doing my little thing and/or thinking about The Thing anyway(!) Also, I tend to think of my hopelessly repetitive thoughts as part of the OCD. Racing thoughts are very different for me, and that one's my BP at work. Repetitive thoughts I can't let go, racing thoughts I can't hold on. Intrusive thoughts, well, they're just damn annoying whatever's causing them.

OR, maybe it is semantics...

In quickly reading up on:
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/ocd/
It talks about in most cases compulsions serving to alleviate anxiety, but also that the often the compulsions (and I assume obsessions as well) cause anxiety by their level of demandingness (word? lol). Or... intrusiveness? In that they are incredibly annoying, they are distressing (what we don't want and can't stop tends to be distressing, after all) and... that's a kind of anxiety, isn't it? Maybe it's not causing sweaty hands or whatever, but poor memory, confusion, poor concentration (brain fog??) can also indicate anxiety. So maybe it's just a semantics thing.

Just kind of thinking aloud here...

[faerie_moon_x]

Oh, I live in a horrible brain fog, much like you describe. I get racing repetative thoughts all the time, but they can also be obsessive and cause huge anxiety if I get stuck in a loop on something that really bothers me. I don't function well when that happens.

I am currently not in treatment. But, Lithium helped me a little bit, it was in the very beginning. I started on 300 mg and two weeks later I had a calming of the mind.

my experience with this is when my mind is left alone absent of emotions.

physiologically the brain will not function unless the heart pumps blood to it.

must have a spiritual aspect?

shut the emotional heart down and the brain goes into waking coma...

thats why it's hard to think with depression cos feelings are subjugated by the other parts of the body manifesting into back aches neck aches fatigue loss of apetite clumsiness and injuries some fatal and on purpose.

the heart wants to save the brain the brain wants to be fed the heart is empty the mind has to watch all this and it improvises screening within black and white fuzz.

bipolar mood swings make this such a regular event and health can fluctuate daily it's astonishingly 'full on'

gotta wait can even encourage the escape...back to vibrant colours...gotta feel something something that the heart can enjoy to invigorate the mind

it's simply....being in anticipation of something better or actually experiencing IT right then and there!

different for everybody but the same principle

(sorry for a long reply here just relate)

[autotelica]

Thanks everyone.

I decided Paxil is not for me. The repetitive thoughts are bad, but those side effects (and the subsequent withdrawal) just aren't worth it. I may have to go with another shrink.