stop worrying...

twi1ight

how?

Does anyone have any tips or techniques on how to clear your head? My brain just gets stuck in a loop sometimes and I can't stop going over and over the same thing. Bills, work, car..... I'm sure other people must have this too. So I was wondering if anyone has a way they switch it off.

I'm really struggling tonight - so much so that it's turned me from a serial lurker to a DFW poster!!

CreditMonkey

Do something you enjoy.....!
Watch a film you've not seen before......!
Or work on a plan of your current situation....write it all down on paper.....then think of where you want to be in say 5 or 10 years time and plan how you can achieve it. I got stuck on the credit roundabout until my recent lightbulb moment and when my head came out of the sand it came out fighting. I declared war on my debt and started to plan my attack. I stopped worrying straight away and can honestly say that its never felt so good. Yes you will keep thinking about it and thats good because it reminds you where you are now and helps to focus your mind on your plan, and that should stop the worry.
Failing that cheap cider and lots of it will work just as well.

:beer:

Gillianh2

Immerse yourself in a good book. I find that a nice hot bubble bath and strait into bed and read and I usually manage to have a sleep. If I try to vary this routine my mind just goes round and round. That I find it impossible to sleep.

twi1ight

Hee hee. I ordered some wine for christmas from sainsbury's the other week. The bottles are looking longingly at me....

It's work on my mind today. It's silly because I know I just need to get some things done tomorrow and then that's it, I'll completely forget about it for the weekend. Hmmm. I'm writing myself an email with a plan.

I just need a way of switching off and thinking about something else. Oh yeah - that's what MSE's for, the ultimate distraction tool!

twi1ight

Gillianh2 wrote: »

Immerse yourself in a good book. I find that a nice hot bubble bath and strait into bed and read and I usually manage to have a sleep. If I try to vary this routine my mind just goes round and round. That I find it impossible to sleep.

That sounds heavenly. I haven't done any winding down tonight which is probably half the problem.

I'm sure everyone must get this sometimes. When your mind is like a broken record. It's interesting to hear what other people do and gives me some ideas to work out what works for me.

oliveoyl

Instead of worrying about the big picture itself, which you can do nothing about immediately, you could break it down to setting yourself smaller targets and concentrate on those... join a challenge maybe... then you'll be busy thinking about that instead of everything else.

If you're a natural worrier/over-thinker it is difficult to shake it off.

twi1ight

oliveoyl wrote: »

If you're a natural worrier/over-thinker it is difficult to shake it off.

That's me

I worry about all sorts of pointless things which is what made me wonder if there's some kind of "technique" for emptying your head. I tried to google it but got all sorts of meditation sites. Me thinks this requires a lot more than flicking a switch. Still, I could work at it.

oliveoyl

And me, and it seems to build up so much that I know I'm winding myself up more but can't stop. The only thing I've found that seems to work quite well is to get absorbed in something else... a book or tv or something that requires no thinking as such, but does occupy you... and i find that after I've done something to take my mind away from me for a bit, the worrying lessens as I'm not as anxious/have calmed down a bit.

pippo

I break down the big 'Lists' into little lists in my head which go something like ...

have a coffee..
put the washing in..
worry about global warming..

do the 7 supervisions for work which you should have done 2 months ago..
go to the toilet..
take the washing out
have another cup of coffee and carry those things upstairs

But when I get get upstairs I've forgotten why I went there!!


But basically previous posters are right - you ned to have fun!! 'Cheap' fun, but fun or something different.
Not even fun sometimes but everyday normal not worrying about time.

The best thing I learnt a long while ago was 'don't agonise... just organise' sounds trite but it works!!

Karmacat

There is *something* to the meditation stuff! And relaxation exercises. When I've done that, thats when the stuff above can really take effect. And cutting things down into small steps is essential.