Not able to shut off your brain

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I get these times where I can not shut off my mind, I keep working out problems in my head whether they be what I should be doing personally, financially, working out senerios in my head, and the sad part even working math problems in my head. I sometimes go back in my mind and relive all the conversations I have had that day and analyze them and replay them in my head with different outcomes because I react differently in my head. Sounds weird huh.

I do that- not weird at all. Your probably overstimulated. I know it is a annoying habit!!

i have trouble with that too. it is annoying especially when it is time for bed and you want to sleep.

Yup, causes my insomnia and most of my stress. I just can't switch off my mind.

Like some of the other posters have mentioned, yes my brain just goes, and goes... at three in the morning when everything else is nice and quiet, my mind is loud. I wish I could stop it.

Yes, frequently. Exercise sometimes helps. It's like a charge, a current running in my head, noisy brain.


M.

It used to be a rather big problem but, my meds have helped keep it under control. Aside from the normal stuff, it also used to give me insomnia, but now I can sleep at night without any major problems.

I could never shut off my brain about my obsessions or things that are bothering me.


Now I have learned to control it. I just distract myself and I forget about them at the moment.

As for me, I can fully relax and don't think at all, but it requires some effort to drive all thoughts away. It's a nice thing, though, I feel much better after it.

I get that problem a lot - brain just won't shut up.

Though it's known that nobody can completely stop thinking. One of the hardest meditation exercises is stilling the mind. It comes as a shock to even the most "normal" people when they try it and discover that they are NOT the masters of their own minds.

When my brain is in "ridiculous overdrive" I sometimes use a Sufi meditation technique - just concentrate on the air going in and out of the tip of my nose as I breathe. It doesn't stop the thoughts, but it sometimes allows me to stop turning them into words in my head, or at least slows me down a bit. There's no forcing the brain into stopping - all you can do is apply gentle pressure to reduce the number of thoughts.

On a more mundane level, it's good to gradually slow down your mind and body as bedtime approaches. The mind takes time to chill out.

To some extent I blame society for the sleeplessness problem - animals just sleep when they're tired and wander about when they're not, they don't worry about the effect on the day job like we do.

I really agree with using meditation - that has saved me many times. Also, channeling the mental energy into physical activity (walking, running, calisthenics, housework, etc.) seems to help me. And music - I have special playlists of songs that really captivate me - they totally take control of my mind & push those other thoughts right out.

For the insomnia, I suggest getting out of bed - don't want to associate being in bed with not being able to sleep. And once my mind has calmed down enough to where I think I might be able to sleep, I keep a boring book next to my bed & read myself to sleep.

My brain never slows down it moves at 1000 MPH all the time, sadly because of it I can't sleep correctly.

I've had this problem forever. It was surprising to me to discover that my husband and my mom often times had the exact opposite problem. That their minds weren't thinking. My husband has even learned not to ask me what I'm thinking. I'm notorious for blurting out a question I come to with my mind ramblings.

Unluckily, my anxiety medications make it even worse at night. I used to just have a hard time falling asleep. With the meds, I started waking 2-5 times a night, and my mind would start going again. As such, I've had to go on sleeping pills just to get some rest. Except, the one I started on 8 mos ago made me gain 40 lbs and was still rising before I decided to stop. Now I'm trying out this new one, but I'm finding myself quite drowsy in the morning.

I asked my psychiatrist about this a few months ago, and he said everyone thinks all the time.

I can't shut down my brain either. I'm constantly thinking about something and can't seem to relax my mind. Sometimes I wish there was an off button on my brain. It's worst when I need to sleep and can't stop thinking and working in my mind. This often causes problems with my sleep.

I'm sure that's true - but the issue arises when certain thoughts refuse to stay in the background when you need (or want) to be doing something else.