Agnostic.com

43 9

Do you over-think and over-analyze?

All my life I have been one to over-think and over-analyze. I have insomnia really bad. I take 2 Trazadone pills every night to knock me out. If I can't fall asleep until 4 am, I end up tiring myself out from my ruminating thoughts I can't shut off. It helps if I stay busy. I like music, but it's just background noise. Sometimes I can enjoy it and my thoughts will stop. I've been known to think about something and then come up with the worst case scenario. Then a day or so later, nothing bad happened at all. I wish my thoughts would turn off. I use coping skills a lot. Sometimes they don't always work. How do you turn your thoughts off? Do you have any good suggestions I could try?

Sarahroo29 8 Mar 11
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

43 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

No....maybe....I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it.

Lol.

10

I'm overanalyzing this right now.

Me too.

6

What about melatonin forsleep? I used to think and over-analyze-don't anymore

An atheist told me (ex friend) it doesn't do anything. I'm about to get some approved for my own dispensing in my room.

It works. Ignore her advice.

@hammerhead I used to use it. I kept telling this guy it works. He kept lying to me. So we parted as friends. He would tell me antioxidants do nothing and other crap I ignored.

Sometimes I use melatonin. It helps quieten my thoughts, and to relax and fall asleep.

I've tried melatonin but find I need to take breaks from it as it loses its effectiveness over time. I've had better luck with magnesium at night, and the herb astralgus. I am a chronic overthinker, and these help. 🙂 Also - I can not sleep without a white noise machine. Just white noise - not birds or waves. Even a fan will do. My brain waves are so accustomed to it I can't do without it now.

5
  • White noise machine. I had one with ten different modes, which included things like light rain, thunderstorm, ocean waves, rainforest, birdsong, and just plain white noise. I used to bring it to the group home where I worked and one of the kids with ADHD said he liked it because it helped him concentrate. I think it works like doodling during class: keeps the squirrely part of your brain occupied so the important part can focus.
  • Meditation.
  • CBT.
  • Sleep technique. I developed a personal program of progressive relaxation, breathing, mantra, and affirmation that really worked for me when was having terrible trouble falling asleep. I may have commented it here a while ago. PM me if you want the details.
  • Journalling. To get on top of your thoughts.

I will ask for meds for my ADHD again. She stopped them because my old dr had me on them. Ever since, I can't concentrate on anything. I need them soon for college. On the 21st I'll ask my dr.

4

If you've never tried it - this: [purrli.com] It's free.
It's a cat purring. You can change the pitch etc... nothing more relaxing.
The fellow who developed it had a bunch of folks with anxiety tell him "Thank you".

I'll try it.

OMG. Thank you for that. I am listening to it at work right now. I mean right Meow. 🙂

3

Trying to relax and concentrating on your breathing is supposed to be good. It's usually how I try to put myself to sleep.

Also, there's an insomniacs group on here.

I'm good now. Life is better.

@Sarahroo29 Oh, good, happy to hear. Well, maybe someone perusing the threads might get something out of it. 🙂

@MollyBell Yes.

3

That thing I said in second grade.

I hope they got over that.

Okay.

3

I've had depression and anxiety since at least high school, so I have always over-thought and over-analyzed. However, nowadays it's mostly because of the fact that I'm a philosophy student, and that's really all we do

Oh, cool.

Sometimes I enjoy reading a little philosophy or reflecting, but too much reasoning and analysis can sometimes stress me emotionally. But having depression and other mental problems can just make it hard to do a lot of heavy thinking, I guess.

@MST3K yeah heavy thinking can really drain you when you have mental illnesses like depression

3

I over drink and am always anal.

godef Level 7 Mar 11, 2018

Awe.

3

I constantly overthink.

I've been able to help myself from keeping my mind racing at night by listening to YouTube lectures. I like Alan Watts, Lawrence Krause, Christopher Hitchens, and many others. Most have soothing voices and I can focus on their words as I drift off. I have it low on autoplay so I often wake to something interesting unexpectedly.

Oddly enough, I generally can't listen to books on tape as my mind drifts and I lose my place and can never tell how much material I missed. Alan Watts is particularly good for listening to as he tends to present his points in a circular fashion. Just when you think he's gone off on a tangent, he brings you back to the main point.

I like programming on cosmology but the trick is to find presentations that do not rely too much on visuals. University lectures are good. The cable series How the Universe Works is good to watch, but not so much as just the audio.

For example, I enjoyed this to the point that I rewatched it to see it with the slides.

@WilliamCharles I can't concentrate. I think my ADHD is another issue. I'll ask for some ADHD pills on the 21st. I'll need them for college. Rn I can't focus to read much or to sit through a movie without getting up all the time.

You do what's right for you, Sarah. You seem to be pretty well thought out as to the choices you make for your own well-being and intellectual development.

All the best to you.

@WilliamCharles I made an apology post just now for my 2 weeks of stressful posts. Life kicked me hard, ever since 2018 started. 2017 was a great year. 2016 was the worst.

3

I use a pedistal fan on at night, basic white noise, I also like the wind blowing on me it relaxes my body. When my thoughts are rambling around in my head I use the 'happy place' to distract my mind. It works good for me. Did use Trazadone in the past but not anymore.

Fans make me anxious. I like the A/C, but I'm always cold and I need silence as I sleep.

3

Apparently I do :/

I know the feeling.

2

I try to put myself in a scenario where I imagine myself in a coma and listen to conversations around me; I think its so dull that it works. Another trick is to move all electronic items with all those small flashing lights out of your bedroom and change a red-lit alarm clock to blue. Use your pre-bed routine to have a calming effected separation from day to evening even to writing down everything you're thinking about and then moving the list to another room, a symbolic letting go. You can also try laying flat, starting at your toes and moving up your body, tensing and then letting loose each body part. I don't use sleeping pills, OTC or prescription because they have the opposite effect on me.

Oh, I use Trazadone.

2

Impossible to over-think. Rather one may confuse-think, think in circles, be indecisive.
If One thinks clearly and with a sound focus, one is contemplating or deeply analyzing but not overthinking

I over-think. I read too much into things.

2

All the time

I'm not anymore.

2

Not fun. After being ripped off (by trusting a person) I experienced the same about a year and a half ago and averaged about 2 hours of sleep a night. After several months of severe sleep deprivation I finally hit a bottom and managed to recover by exercising profound apathy over issues I could not control. During the darkest of time I found listening to the Blu-Ray "Monty Pyton's, Not The Messiah, He's A Very Naughty Boy" very comforting.

Hope you find a solution.

Thanks.

2

I have dealt with this same thing all my life. I have been self-medicating for many years with beer/alcohol. I can remember lying in bed for hours keeping myself awake thinking about the craziest scenarios that might happen, but which I'd never find myself in such predicaments. When I am with a partner, sex tends to be very helpful and tires me out to where I can sleep good. When I am single, two or three beers before I eventually go to bed help me wind down and fall sleep. Probably not the healthiest option. I'm a fan of the sex option!

I don't like beer.

@Sarahroo29 I'm not advocating alcohol to solve your issues. There are other things instead of beer - or alcohol... but that isn't always the healthiest way to deal. That's something you need to decide/figure out for yourself.

2

I personally analyze every minute of my life 😀

Me too.

2

SOMETIMES I don't. 😛

Lucky you.

2

Trazadone gave me really vivid dreams. Wild crazy dreams. Not complaining about it, though. Just sayin'.

Not me.

Same. Sometimes it takes me minutes after waking to realize which is real.

2

CBD and/or marijuana.
White noise.
Ashwaganda
Years of experimenting have yielded these for me. Everyone is different.
Thinking of you. It's difficult. You will survive.

Weed makes me paranoid.

2

Picture me naked. When the screaming stops you should doze right off. 🙂

Lol.

2

All the time, it is the worst when I am unoccupied. I try to stay busy until I pass out

My meds help.

That is good, I use alcohol or sleeping pills depending on the days responsibilities

1

Sleeplessness : Give your brain a job to do i.e. not letting it wander. Spend some time thinking how long will this job take. Record your conclusions somehow. About an hour works for me as a non drug sleep inducer.

I ruminated for nothing. Everything got fixed in one day. I made a post.

1

Yes, I'm afraid I do that, and it has gotten me into trouble. It's something I need to work on.

Me too.

1

I use hanayama cast puzzles as a way to give my mind a break from overthinking. There are 6 levels. 6 is the hardest. I'm currently working on level 4s.

Cool.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:35688
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.