[psychmajortwenty2]

This isn't a judgment in any way. I've always been told that "I think too much". I thought it was just my analytical nature. I just simply thought about stuff more than I guess other people did.

Then I got depression.

Then I found out I had ADHD.

Now I'm starting to think about my thinking too much. (Weird Irony. lol).

But I'm just wondering... is it just me examining my life too much and that is what causes me to get stressed out?

Those other people who just seem to be worried about their local weeknight TV schedule getting disrupted don't seem to be malfunctioning like I seem too. They've found their little routines to get into.

Those people who just think about getting drunk Friday night and having a meaningless hook up.. they don't seem to be spending time over their thoughts like I do.

Those people who just seem to LIVE and not think much seem to be doing better than I am! They're just out there... living. I'm in here.. in my head.. not living.

If there was a way to think less, and you could do it, do you think you'd be over your mental illness?

Any tricks to make you think less?

[atomicc]

I don't think I could think less because it's the way I'm wired. Maybe it's partly because of my anxiety disorder that I worry the way I do but no..I don't think I've found a way to stop. It has it's pros and cons for me. on one hand I'm highly intelligent and do fantastic academically because I do analyze so much. On the other hand I obsess over everything that doesn't need to be thought over so deeply. Therapy and medication are helping me worry less though.

[kaliope]

One flaw in your thinking is that you are comparing your insides to other peoples outsides...you don't know that these other people aren't stressed out as well......but I agree...if I didn't think so much I would be way better off.

[MotownJohnny]

It's also a question of what we think about - happier people think happier thoughts.

[gayleggg]

Thank goodness for Klonopin which slows down my obsessive thoughts and curbs my irratibility caused by the obsessive thoughts. I can't tell which comes first; the negative thinking or the depression. Whatever, it doesn't seem I have power over either.

[psychmajortwenty2]

Originally Posted by atomicc

I don't think I could think less because it's the way I'm wired. Maybe it's partly because of my anxiety disorder that I worry the way I do but no..I don't think I've found a way to stop. It has it's pros and cons for me. on one hand I'm highly intelligent and do fantastic academically because I do analyze so much. On the other hand I obsess over everything that doesn't need to be thought over so deeply. Therapy and medication are helping me worry less though.

I find the same exact thing with me! What therapy in particular do you find helpful to worry less? Or.. think less?

My pdoc gave me CBT training.. that was definitely helpful. Just to write in my diary once in a while and figure it out. Also seeing the trends in my thinking too.

[Punkenz343]

I have been told that I am an active thinker. I think about everything a lot. Recently in the past year or two it's been worse for me. I've been with my boyfriend now for a year and Me over thinking has caused many problems. I try to keep my mind off things and stay busy so I don't think and take little details and make them into huge problems when there isn't a problem to begin with.
I do think that if I just stopped thinking about everything or worrying about everything then maybe things would get better.

I have worked on keeping myself busy If I am thinking negatively it works for the time being but I'm always thinking that way.

[KayB]

I thought about that too. I wasn't sure if it was just me--but I guess that's what this site is for, yes? Yes. Knowing that I definitely will not stop thinking any time soon, I tried just thinking about other things. Things that...I don't know, made me happy. Or made me appreciate things.
I don't really wonder if I'd be better off not thinking so much. It's who I am, it's what I can think about that makes me who I am. I like being a deep thinker. When it's gets to the point to where I start thinking about the meaning of anything and everything, I try to do something else.

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

Short answer: no, but I wish it were that simple.

[bronzeowl]

The problem with trying to think less is that it requires some thinking about how I can think less.

Herein lies the problem.

It does seem to me, though, that many people who battle mental illness are thinkers and questioners. I've always wondered if that's a cause or a result. Guess it's kind of like the Tootsie Pop commercials. The world may never know.

I feel getting stuck in your head can definitely influence how severe the mood is. Since I have been practicing mindfulness (living in the moment) and using CBT I have been much happier. I am constantly told I think too much, and they are right - I did, now that I dont I am happier.

[lido78]

I do believe that if I spent less time thinking and analyzing my problems I'd be happier, or at least more content. This reminds me of the final exam question for a philosophy class I had in college: "Would you rather be a pig satisfied or Socrates dissatisifed?" I think about this often...while I'd rather be able to function on a somewhat intelligent level, when the thoughts come racing in, there are times I'd rather just be someone who worries about what to make for dinner. My mother seems to have a good mixture of both..she's a scientist in terms of her educational background, but this is also in keeping with her personality. She does not spend too much time thinking about stuff that is not right in front of her...she doesn't worry too much about possibilities, unless she's prepared to take concrete action. I don't think she spends very much time muddled in thought and is geared much more toward action. If she doesn't like something, she tries to change it. If she is unable to change what she doesn't like, she just moves on. She cannot seem to handle abstract discussions on such vague ideas as "What is happiness" and it can be frustrating when trying to talk about things like this with her...that being said, she's rarely unhappy...After spending so many years stressing out or being filled with anxiety over things that I cannot control/change, I've realized that I'd be much more peaceful (and even happier) if my brain functioned as her's does...

[Perna]

Originally Posted by psychmajortwenty2

But I'm just wondering... is it just me examining my life too much and that is what causes me to get stressed out?

I think the life examination thing is a symptom of its own; you can't just turn it off, it is/was helping you in your life in some way. If it is in your way not instead of helping, I would see a therapist, explore being "whole" instead of lopsided with just thinking? Thoughts are not actions, they help make up what actions to take; life is an active sport; we are being intellectual wall flowers at the dance of life when we do have too much thinking going on and not enough follow-through.

[Gus1234U]

let me just mention,,, Meditation~!

[psychmajortwenty2]

Originally Posted by Gus1234U

let me just mention,,, Meditation~!

How do you begin?

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by gayleggg

Thank goodness for Klonopin which slows down my obsessive thoughts and curbs my irratibility caused by the obsessive thoughts. I can't tell which comes first; the negative thinking or the depression. Whatever, it doesn't seem I have power over either.

I agree, meds can help. Prozac stopped the chattering in my head. When a psychiatrist once said something to me about thinking too fast, I was like, uh isnt that the point?? Apparently not...

[yellowfrog268]

Having ADD and anxiety, thinking less would definitly be an improvement.

[gma45]

Lots of good answers.....I have often wondered this myself...if I could just turn the thoughts off.....I have found I am better now that I try to live in the here and now. Meditation also helps me to relax my mind.

[RomanG]

Emotions motivate thoughts. You think more because your are unhappy, and your mind is trying to solve that (probably unsuccessfully). People who are content and have pleasure (tv, drinking, etc.) at their fingertips, and they do not need to think as much, they can just act. Acting is easier than thinking, and people are usually drawn to think when acting will no longer provide them pleasure.

[psychmajortwenty2]

Originally Posted by eupsychologist001

Emotions motivate thoughts. You think more because your are unhappy, and your mind is trying to solve that (probably unsuccessfully). People who are content and have pleasure (tv, drinking, etc.) at their fingertips, and they do not need to think as much, they can just act. Acting is easier than thinking, and people are usually drawn to think when acting will no longer provide them pleasure.

I don't know about that... because you can gain pleasure also from thinking. Daydreaming, imagining. And thinking can lead to doing - i.e. writing and painting.

[@nonymous]

Exercise helps. It is true that thinking affects your emotions and your outlook. Is ignorance bliss? While an unexamined life may not be worth living, neither is an overexamined life.

[Gus1234U]

it's been my observation that far too many of us on PC, and with depressive and phobic/anxiety disorders (myself included) get FAR too little exercise~! especially the walking in nature and swimming in clean rivers , kind.

ask the experts, they will tell you that 10 minutes in a wilderness will reset your breathing and heart rate, and 3 hrs will change your mind for months... but really, who has easy access to the wilderness ? who even feels safe, or able to just get up and go out and walk on the street ? who can afford a gym membership and transportation there and back ?

GADS~! it's so hard to hear of things that 'Help', and be unable to access them~! some days i can barely sit at the puter and listen to my brain repair tapes and how hard is that?

well,,, do your best, as you are doing, and don't beat yourself up for any reason~! that's what i have to say~ hrumph

[psychmajortwenty2]

Originally Posted by Gus1234U

it's been my observation that far too many of us on PC, and with depressive and phobic/anxiety disorders (myself included) get FAR too little exercise~! especially the walking in nature and swimming in clean rivers , kind.

ask the experts, they will tell you that 10 minutes in a wilderness will reset your breathing and heart rate, and 3 hrs will change your mind for months... but really, who has easy access to the wilderness ? who even feels safe, or able to just get up and go out and walk on the street ? who can afford a gym membership and transportation there and back ?

GADS~! it's so hard to hear of things that 'Help', and be unable to access them~! some days i can barely sit at the puter and listen to my brain repair tapes and how hard is that?

well,,, do your best, as you are doing, and don't beat yourself up for any reason~! that's what i have to say~ hrumph

Incidentally, this is why I think I've started feeling better moving back to my hometown. It's so tiny. There's an entire forest and field with lots of trails in it (made by the four wheelers/ATVs) that I've been going to a lot. It's definitely helped. I don't know what.. but I think it's changed me. I feel freer

I once read that intelligent people suffering from depression are more difficult to treat. It seems they are more prone to question advice.

Still, I don't know if the premise of this thread is accurate as my experience with family members is that the less intelligent they are, the less they are likely to go to therapy at all. That being said, my brother who considers himself "stupid" has recently started individual therapy by court order and has found it so helpful that he wants to continue it after his required sessions end. I could not ask for better news.

[SeekingZen]

psychmajortwenty2,

I agree with the mindfulness meditation suggestion. Start off slow (5 min was difficult for me the first few times) & work up from there. The longest I've gone is 45 min. Search youtube for some meditation videos; they have a bunch to choose from.
Getting out into nature & doing anything can also have a similar effect. Go for a hike, a run, swim, take a bike ride through the park, or go kayaking. Take a yoga or Pilates class or anything else that will get you out of your head. I've found that when I do this on a regular basis, I tend to worry/obsess over things a bot less. Best of luck to you!