How To Stop Racing Thoughts
What should you do when your thoughts won’t stop racing? How should one react when our minds are filled with speeding negative thoughts that make us anxious and fearful? There are a couple of things you can do, but perhaps the most effective thing is to tell your mind to just stop it.
Known as the “Stop Technique,” it is simply you yelling the word stop to yourself. Of course because this might make you look like you’re crazy in public you could also do this silently. Also, you may have to say stop! to yourself many times. It’s a very short mantra meant to affect change quickly.
There are variations of this technique but telling yourself to “stop it” is the root of them all. When I heard about this I was skeptical but it does work somewhat. I imagine that for it to work very effectively you’d have to practice it a bit, but it seems promising.
This technique is a kind of cognitive behavioral therapy used by psychologist to affect the negative thinking of their patients. So it’s not some crack pot thing I’m introducing here. The stop technique is not of course the only thing you can do to stop racing thoughts.
Racing thoughts can also be dropped kicked by simply and vigorously engaging your mind. When your mind is fully engaged it’s just harder for those thoughts to come to the surface and dominate your mood. Here is a short list of other things you can do to stop racing thoughts in their tracks.
1. Talk to someone or better yet to several people. Getting into conversation is perhaps the best distraction in the world. It takes a lot of brain power to carry on a good conversation and this could pull your attention to a single thing and away from the barrage of thoughts that have been tormenting you.
2. Read a book. This simple technique is useful because it tends to occupy your inner voice. So if your reading and following the story it’s much more difficult to slip back into other thoughts at the same time.
3. Writing. Whether it’s a journal, blog, or creative writing the act of writing will engage your mind and reduce the power of racing thoughts.
4. Physical activity. Things like running, swimming, basketball, weight lifting, etc engage your body which will eventually engage your mind. As your body becomes fatigued your mind will become more consumed by that than anything else.
Having racing thoughts can be disturbing and frightening because it creates a sense of being out of control. But having racing thoughts does not mean you’re out of control or crazy. It does mean that you are anxious and that your stress levels are elevated. Anxiety and racing thoughts just go hand and hand but it is manageable.
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I sure hope it can be that easy. My racing thoughts, social phobia, and panic attacks are constant and so bad I’m basically trapped inside a room 24/7. I’m 29 and can’t work or even go in the grocery store. I stay up for 24-36 hours at a time and can’t ever sleep normally. I’ve been on 20+ medications in the past 15 years with 5-6 different diagnoses (GAD, OCD, bi-polar, depression, add, etc), but no one seems to know.
I just want to be off of all medications and strengthen my mind like people have been doing naturally for thousands of years before the pharmaceutical industry began. Things aren’t looking so hopeful though.
They are hopeful Will, but only you can find that hope. It starts with you making the decision to not live life anxiously anymore. It takes courage I know but the more you practice that way of thinking no matter how you may feel now, it will improve dramatically as you do it more and more.
I’ve done it without medication, and yes every once in awhile I will get extra stressed out and feel like panic is coming back but it’s more like an “echo” of panic than anything else. Since the day I decided I would no longer accept living anxiously it’s been getting better and better every day
I was housebound with agoraphobia for months and dealt with Panic Disorder twice in my life; once when I was 11 and again at 24. I’m now nearly 26 and things are getting back to normal again. I go out with friends, I’m back in College and doing better than ever before, I try to get out of the house everyday, I grocery shop by myself now, I drive by myself now, heck my gf even dumped me and kicked me out of my house 2 months ago and I didn’t have a single attack.
I hope you get this message because hope and love are always there waiting for you bud. It’s hard to believe when you feel this way but I promise you it’s always there… we just need to re-train our brains to default with more positive thought processes.
For sleep, what worked for me is chamomile tea and valerian root tincture in a little bit of hot water… I would try and fight to stay awake on that stuff lol. It’s all natural so you need to make sure you don’t have any allergies to flowers (chamomile). Passionflower tincture also worked amazingly! You can buy them at health food stores. I also noticed eating more raw foods and reducing processed junk from my diet helped tremendously with anxiety. Food can alter our body more than you would believe so we need to feed it with nutrients and more natural things.
There’s tons of help dude I hope you seek it out… if anyone reads this it has helped me tremendously to look into Law of Attraction and Buddhism. I was completely closed-minded in the past and only believed in Science…until now
im on the same page as you Will i just wish this stuff would go away everyday i feel like its my last man and i go to the doctor and they say nothing is wrong with me. i dont know what to do here . matt your insight is giving me hope i really am goin to look it the the laws of attraction and buddhisn but the problem is i have no idea what im looking for i just need this racing thoughts on and off sleep scheduele and scared to do anything to go away im on so many meds and there are helping once and a while but i need more than the meds and best case scenario no meds and back to normal ( which i dont even know how that feels anymore its been over 15 yrs of this) im 29 yrs old and i cant even enjoy my loving understanding wife 2 yr old amazing daughter and another baby on the way … these should be good thing but im just nervouse 99.9 percent of the time i feel a panic attack coming which i have been able to prevent the last few times but just knowing thats its coming is enough to scare me to stop doin anything and everything i would litterally cut off a finger or 2 just to live normal i cant go have fun with friends i cant work i cant sleep eat nothing normal i wish some1 who got through what i got through would just help me out i dunno what to do just goin on and on about the same stuff but thats what my life has become repetitive fear over mostly nothing. ok finances who doesnt stress about that everyone does and if your wealthy then theres something else to stress over what to do with the whole ocd agoraphobia panic disorder depression anxiety i have no clue but im making a change right now i have to fix it because the only thing in my eyes that is worse than this is dying and i dont wanna die and daily i question if im goin to just from this anxiety please if anyone has helpfull insight post for me please
thank you
Hey Nick, you’re not alone!!! I have felt that way many time with anxiety… too scared to want to die but not wanting to live anymore in constant fear. I highly recommend you look into the Linden Method and Abe-Hicks…it has helped me so much!
The problem I have found with panic disorder is that I will have racing thoughts about a million things and it feels like I’m too smart for my own good lol. I feel like if I could focus on just one thought amazing things would happen. It’s like I’m full of an insane amount of creative energy but I have nothing to direct it at so I use it to worry about illnesses that I could potentially have or get.
The doctors will tell you that you’re broken but that’s not true… the only reason you have panic and anxiety is because you (and I) took a negative idea (like illness and death) and thought about it long enough (feeling bad the whole time) that our brain and nervous system re-wired itself to be anxious and therefore brain chemistry was changed… but they will tell you that your brain chemistry is unbalanced and that’s that (true but you’re not broken!).
Basically you need to reset the anxiety levels in your brain by first learning relaxation techniques and then diverting your attention by choosing a hobby that you can focus a lot of attention on. In other words, you have to change your obsessions from inward (body) to outward such as learning to play guitar for example…something that takes up a lot of mental capacity. Generally people with anxiety have highly active imaginations…we are creative and need an outlet and when we can’t find one…….we internalize that energy and become creative in our imagination about what could be wrong with our bodies or if we are about to die.
I really hope some of this helps you because it really helped me and now I’m able to get out of the house and be on my own most of the time. Another author that really helped me was Dr.Wayne Dyer (Power of Intentions and Excuses Begone). The only way to get rid of anxiety is to acknowledge and accept that you created it…once you test this theory it becomes very apparent that you do control it even when it feels like you don’t at all. As awful as the feelings and sensations are they are just a response to the negative thoughts…it’s your body’s way of telling you to stop thinking the way you are…we just get caught up in the cycle of fearing that message.
The number one best thing you can do is learn as much as possible about the condition…like the fact that you’re not mentally ill and it is in fact reversible. The next best thing to do that really really REALLY worked for me was eliminating most of the processed foods and sugar from my diet (except for fruit) and drinking tons of water throughout the day. If you eat a lot of sugar it really does make the anxiety worse trust me… your blood sugar levels will be all over the place and will make you feel weak, tired, and nauseous.
Goodluck man, if you have more questions feel free to ask… your replies make it to my email inbox
Thank you both for posting. I have been battling anxiety on & off for 10yrs now & just had another “relapse” and your words have re-inspired me. Both of my sisters suffer too so I will share this with them. Matt you should write a book!
I was drawn to this page looking for relief from racing thoughts, and was surprised to see the comments turn to Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. As a man who also suffered from this very thing and having spent plenty of time, energy and money on the couch, well to say the least I was upset that nothing was happening.. In the early eighties Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia became part of the public consciousness and I was able to find a sort of mail order therapy through an organization called CHAANGE (with two A’s)and ordered a sreies of tapes. I followed there instructions and after about eight weeks began to notice a difference. What I can say for sure is that after finishing, at least I was no longer functioning at 20%. It was a long slow recovery, and as I began this dialoge by saying that I was looking for relief, I am still recovering. I don’t know if CHAANGE is still in existence, and if not, I have noticed that there are other programs available that seem to be the same. Your not a coward, and if you keep on keeping on you will find some relief. There seems to be some pretty good advice on this page as well. Wishing you the best.
Thanks guys that does give hope it can get better. I’ll be spending the day or 2 in the hospital so this is going to be a real tough one. Had a mild stroke 3 days ago but was too afraid to tell anyone> And Man it sucks typing with 1 finger!!
Hey! One book I highly recommend is The Ultramind solution by Dr. Mark Hyman. Look for it at the library. It goes into different biochemical aspects of psychology not recognized by any major institutions. His website looks gimmicky, even the phrase itself does. However, if you look as some of the many points he makes in the book and look for published peer review articles confirming it you will see there is data which supports it. Anyways, the reason I am here is not because of negative thoughts but thoughts in general. Also, his book, although very complex, still probably oversimplifies the situation. Because there is no way to write a single book explaining details that are not well understood yet. Good luck.
By the way, the book has helped me tremendously but is obviously not a cure-all as I once thought it was. I now eat better and have more energy, just still have sleep problems. I also am not thinking of death constantly and hating my life as well, although occasionally these thoughts appear, they are no where near the level they were before. There is not much else I can really say though.
im back again 1 thing i would like to ask is how are you doin Will and what was the reason for your stroke??? and matt and mark im writing down all these books that you say to get but i have a book called “from panic to power” and i heard it was really good but i have trouble reading because my mind drifts as im reading i dont know if you guys have any help for that but i just cant stay on 1 thing in my mind at a time il be reading and half way down the page il be like what did i just read because of all the racing thoughts … anyways you guys are a big help just knowing its mental and not physical even thouugh it feels so physical at times and knowing that its not common but not that uncommon either its good to know im n ot the only 1 goin through it even though i dont wish it on my worst enemy it still helps knowing im not the only 1
and also matt where would i find a diet thats good for anxiety i had no idea that the food i eat helps or harms my disorder i would love to know what to eat cuz with the meds im on im geting fat as well lol but i wish that was my biggest problem
Hey Nick,
The best diet for ANYONE is the Paleo diet… there are many variations of it but stick with just eating as much natural whole foods as possible and don’t worry so much about the ratios of fats, carbs, and proteins… you’ll be getting plenty of proper nutrition just by eliminating processed junk
A paleo diet is virtually lean meats, fruits, veggies, and a little bit of nuts and seeds… I know it sounds bland and boring but it really works well because it regulates your blood sugar levels and reduces stress hormones such as cortisol (which is known to make ppl gain weight). I stuck with it for a few months as best as I could and it made a world of difference… I slept better, my mind stopped racing, and I could focus more positively/clearly and handle stressful situations with much more confidence. This type of diet combined with exercise will regulate your hormones and you will end up feeling more balanced and confident.
If you check out Paleo… just be sure to stay clear of the maniacs (lol)… the ones who say carbs are bad… carbs are definitely good! But we need to eat proper carbohydrate foods from natural whole sources such as fruit and veggies. I would also stay clear from juice for a bit… since it has no fiber in it, it will hit your bloodstream right away and cause an insulin spike (which is what candy and white flour do) and it produces a “stress” response in your body (clearly not good for those of us with higher levels of anxiety to begin with
) That insulin spike from junk food is the reason we crash after eating because your body will now try to compensate for that immediate spike of energy and a flood of stress hormones will kick in to try and rebalance itself.
Hope this helps and makes sense… I would suggest reading a book called “Body By Science” by Dr. Doug McGuff M.D. (Emergency Physician). He writes about the importance of proper exercise and a more natural hunter/gatherer diet and how it effects our mental state and general well-being/ hormonal balance. It’s an excellent book and I have lost 60 lbs of fat and gained muscle just by doing what he said.
Goodluck
P.S. I was just recently officially demoted on my medical chart to being cleared of Panic Disorder (without the use of drugs) The only thing left for me to do now is re-train myself to think more positively… but all anxiety is gone and has been for several months
I know all of you reading can do it too!
Matt,i belive yoga will be helpful in this regard… it will make one calm. it gives one positive & energetic outlook towards life and a great stress buster. it has helped me a lot to calm my nerves. various studies have revealed this fact. specially one can do ” kapal bhati, anulom wilom, bhramari pranayam, surya namaskar among others”. Name sounds difficult but IT Will be helpful. one can search for it on youtube & torrentz…let me know if any one wants help in this regard…
IT STARTED ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO. I WAS PREPARING FOR SEMESTER PAPERS, DUE TO EXAM, SITUATION WAS ALREADY STRESSED.THEN I HAD SEVERE ARGUMENTS WITH MY ROOM MATE FROM TIME TO TIME WHO IS A WEIRED GUY.I TRIED TO REMAIN COOL BUT HE USED TO MAKE WEIRED COMMENTS & SUCH STUFFS. ALTHOUH THER ARE OTHER PEOPLE, WHO CAN NEGLECT OR AVOID THESE THINGS. THEY DON’T HAVE PROBLEM WITH IT. BUT I USED TO GET ANXIOUS, I WAS THINKIG ABOUT THESE THINGS ALL TIME(RACING TTHOUGHT), I WAS NOT ABLE TO CONCERAATE ON MY EXAM. EVEN EMOTIONAL BRAKE DOWN TOOK PLACE I FELT LIKE CRYING, WITHOUT ANY REASON, SOME TIME. THEN I CAME BACK TO MY FAMILY DURING SEMESTER BREAK…BUT STILL I WAS THINKING ABOUT HIM & THINGS LIKE HOW WOULD I FACE HIM & HOW WOULD I REPLY HIM. THINKING OF THESE THINGS MADE ME ANXIOUS, FEARFUL & EMOTIONALLY WEEK MISERABLE.I KNOW AVOIDING CAN BE A SOLUTION. BUT I WANT TO FACE IT, BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A SMALL PROBLEM & ESCAPING IT IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY. WEIRED THING IS THAT IT IS INSIGNIFICANT PROBLEM, & I M NOT ABLE TO KEEP MY HEAD FROM IT. SHOULD I CONSULT A DOCTOR OR SOMETHING ??? PLZ TELL ME
I was on 6 meds and miserable. Stopped all. It is now 7 months later. I am on a whole foods/ plant based diet, but racing thoughts and unrelenting sadness still come back fast and hard, like a punch to the face. Have an appt. w/ new Dr. on 14th (I am bipolar) and will give lithium a try. I have been told I need to be on an anti anxiety or I will stroke out. I was finally able to curb my drinking so maybe it woudn’t be as bad as a year ago (?) anybody???