Getting things stuck in your head.. OMFG!! !!

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Danusaurus
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02 Apr 2021, 2:31 am

So over the past few months..

I've been getting more and more stuck in my own mind than previously.. I have a notoriously bad habit of repeating things in my head. Words, songs etc.. to the point it is driving me insane as I have been trying to stop it but I can't help it..!?!?!

How often do you do this ..?? :? Does it annoy you..??!?!?

It's beginning to cause me considerable distress and I pretty much want to take sleeping pills just to escape this occuring. I am wondering what strategies have you found helpful to not or at least reduce the frequency of this happening..?? :( :scratch:

Thanks All,

Dani.



aquafelix
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02 Apr 2021, 4:53 am

Yes, I experience this too and it can be maddening. I find it almost impossible to get something out of my head once it's gotten stuck in there. I found that not stressing about it and just letting wherever it is bounce around whilst I did something distracting usually does the trick. . . eventually, but generally I've found no quick fix, I just have to wait it out. I noticed the more stressed I am the "sticker" my thoughts get.



Danusaurus
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02 Apr 2021, 5:23 am

aquafelix wrote:
Yes, I experience this too and it can be maddening. I find it almost impossible to get something out of my head once it's gotten stuck in there. I found that not stressing about it and just letting wherever it is bounce around whilst I did something distracting usually does the trick. . . eventually, but generally I've found no quick fix, I just have to wait it out. I noticed the more stressed I am the "sticker" my thoughts get.


Yeah. It drives me crazy. I just find things on fking loop and despite my best efforts I can't help but once something triggers off a thought, song, phrase etc.. I keep linking things and linking things if not repeating back things that seem more frequent than ever.. except for something such as reading things back in my head like if reading a book for example is something I've always done. :(



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02 Apr 2021, 5:27 am

If you are going to be looping, make the subject the most mundane thing in your life - your breath. Then, let meditation work its magic.



aquafelix
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02 Apr 2021, 5:36 am

I heard someone say the people with Aspergers have a brain than "runs hot" and is always active. I once had the TIE fighter attack music from Star Wars Wars going in my head on a loop for about a week. I get the linking thoughts you mentioned on rapid fire so quickly the thoughts just smash into each others and run over each other and it just sounds like 50 stations of talk back radio shows going on all at once. I get exhausted by it and it just wears me down



Danusaurus
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02 Apr 2021, 5:38 am

Dear_one wrote:
If you are going to be looping, make the subject the most mundane thing in your life - your breath. Then, let meditation work its magic.


Ugh.. I don't know. I'm going to give it a try cept I've no idea how to meditate. Though I know since it's gotten worse my stimming has reduced significantly. So externally speaking it's better .. my brain is so preoccupied with crap and jargon that it's something I've only just noticed.. comes at a cost though.. arghhhh!! !! !! !



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02 Apr 2021, 5:42 am

aquafelix wrote:
I heard someone say the people with Aspergers have a brain than "runs hot" and is always active. I once had the TIE fighter attack music from Star Wars Wars going in my head on a loop for about a week. I get the linking thoughts you mentioned on rapid fire so quickly the thoughts just smash into each others and run over each other and it just sounds like 50 stations of talk back radio shows going on all at once. I get exhausted by it and it just wears me down


Yeah pretty much.. I agree it's so so very tiring.
Makes me tend to just want to sleep in bed all day n night.. except. Still happens .. in the time it took me to write this particular response I would have looped a song and a few phrases about 5-6 times. Omg I'm going nuts.. srsyly!



aquafelix
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02 Apr 2021, 6:48 am

Danusaurus wrote:
aquafelix wrote:
I heard someone say the people with Aspergers have a brain than "runs hot" and is always active. I once had the TIE fighter attack music from Star Wars Wars going in my head on a loop for about a week. I get the linking thoughts you mentioned on rapid fire so quickly the thoughts just smash into each others and run over each other and it just sounds like 50 stations of talk back radio shows going on all at once. I get exhausted by it and it just wears me down


Yeah pretty much.. I agree it's so so very tiring.
Makes me tend to just want to sleep in bed all day n night.. except. Still happens .. in the time it took me to write this particular response I would have looped a song and a few phrases about 5-6 times. Omg I'm going nuts.. srsyly!

I wish I could sleep to shut my brain off, but as soon as I lie down my mind starts broadcasting on full power. I find it hard to sleep unless I'm really tired.



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02 Apr 2021, 7:38 am

Constantly get things stuck in my head - names, words, and definitely songs. I woke up two days ago with the "We are Siamese" song from Lady and the Tramp stuck. Wake up, there it is. I haven't seen that movie in many years and never completely, no idea why that.

I distract myself by doing something I find immersive. Most of the time if music is stuck I can play other music or whatever song it is a few times and it gets unstuck. Sometimes it reinforces the stuck. Words and names are usually just stuck until they aren't so I have to deal with it.

I put on ocean waves (black screen Prime video) that plays through the night and it seems to help my brain shut off. My sensory issues are mostly sound and sound of my choosing seems to help soothe. A completely quiet room at night makes me want to crawl out of my skin.



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02 Apr 2021, 10:07 am

I sometimes get a song stuck in my head that was being played on the radio at work, and it drives me mad. It can even affect my sleep. It's like a brain itch, and sometimes I imagine there being a hole in my head where I can scratch the itch and the song will stop. I can even FEEL the part of my brain where the song plays on a loop (in the back somewhere). Why do humans get songs stuck in their head for? Do our pets get songs stuck in their heads when we listen to music?


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02 Apr 2021, 12:27 pm

Danusaurus wrote:
So over the past few months..

I've been getting more and more stuck in my own mind than previously.. I have a notoriously bad habit of repeating things in my head. Words, songs etc.. to the point it is driving me insane as I have been trying to stop it but I can't help it..!?!?!

How often do you do this ..?? :? Does it annoy you..??!?!?

It's beginning to cause me considerable distress and I pretty much want to take sleeping pills just to escape this occuring. I am wondering what strategies have you found helpful to not or at least reduce the frequency of this happening..?? :( :scratch:

Thanks All,

Dani.

I deal with it mostly by finding other, better things to focus on. For example, if there is a song in my head that is starting to annoy me, I will start singing a different song (sometimes out loud, sometimes just to myself).


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02 Apr 2021, 12:36 pm

I get songs and phrases stuck in my head that loop over and over. It's often like I can't not focus on them, like a mental version of sensory overload. lol

I've had that happen since I was a kid, and it used to be so bad it'd keep me up at night. Now it's "quiet" enough I can do something that takes up more attention and not completely focus on it. I've also just gotten used to having "background music" since it rarely stops, as after 20 years it becomes somewhat bearable and just a part of life.

I think in my case it might be more OCD related than ASD related, since it gets worse/better with the rest of my symptoms, and some other people with OCD have had it to the intensity that I do.



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02 Apr 2021, 4:50 pm

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Danusaurus
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02 Apr 2021, 6:54 pm

HeroOfHyrule wrote:
I get songs and phrases stuck in my head that loop over and over. It's often like I can't not focus on them, like a mental version of sensory overload. lol

I've had that happen since I was a kid, and it used to be so bad it'd keep me up at night. Now it's "quiet" enough I can do something that takes up more attention and not completely focus on it. I've also just gotten used to having "background music" since it rarely stops, as after 20 years it becomes somewhat bearable and just a part of life.

I think in my case it might be more OCD related than ASD related, since it gets worse/better with the rest of my symptoms, and some other people with OCD have had it to the intensity that I do.


It's pretty spot on to see it as mental sensory overload. I wish I had an RCD switch to flip off the intrusive thoughts /what gets stuck on repeat..

People often Remind me how fkn annoying I am because of this.. couple it with emotional placement it would totally paint some messed up image.



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03 Apr 2021, 3:24 pm

I get songs from TV adverts stuck in my head, which I suppose is the purpose of the advert, but it can get annoying.


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03 Apr 2021, 4:33 pm

Ive experienced this all of my life and have kind of become used to it. I just let it run its course. Sometimes when its a word or phrase that someone has used in person or on the TV if I say it out loud a few times at high volume it becomes less prominent and drifts away. That doesnt work all of the time though. Sometimes its a piece of music. I try not to fight it too much as this can make it worse.

I'm troubled with it most at night when Im trying to sleep. Every now and then it will keep me awake for a whole night. If it feels like its going to be one of those mights I get up and have a cup of tea, watch something on the laptop etc and try to divert myself.

It seems to happen at random and I cant identify any correlation between it and things like tiredness, stress, anxiety, boredom, work or leisure patterns etc.

I sometimes wonder whether its a manifestation of echolalia.


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