Racing thoughts

[Plasma]

So today I went out with my girlfriend to a restaurant and I had a panic attack because of these bizarre racing thoughts. My mind was telling me that any minute the building will collapse on me, and then later it was telling me that someone will come out and shoot me, then later the waitress came to us and my mind was telling me that the waitress has a bomb and that she will blow us all up! I pictured all of this shit in my head. Does anyone here have any similar bizarre racing thoughts or is it just me? I know the crap I'm thinking is not likely to happen but that's just how my brain works.

[gypsylee]

Hey there,

Yeah, that's pretty much what the brain does when it's under (or has been under) too much stress. Then we add to it by worrying about the thoughts and it becomes this nasty vicious cycle. The trick is to be able to detach from your thoughts, which is a skill not many of us have and takes practice. The motto is "don't believe everything you think"

Cheers,
Gypsy x

[Plasma]

"Don't believe everything you think"

That's pretty hard to do when you're an engineer major haha

It's kind of weird how my intuition is great in stuff like physics and math when I do them on a piece of paper but when I face the real world, it just becomes so unrealistic

[Anne1221]

Have you ever considered counseling? It might be helpful. Trying to ignore that "the waitress has a bomb and will blow us all up" or that "someone is going to shoot you" or "the building will collapse on you" might be harder to ignore than say, "this food might make me sick." (I used that example because someone posted that once).

[gypsylee]

"Don't believe everything you think"

That's pretty hard to do when you're an engineer major haha

It's kind of weird how my intuition is great in stuff like physics and math when I do them on a piece of paper but when I face the real world, it just becomes so unrealistic

Haha yeah, I bet! My university degree is in business but that was 20 years ago and I never got very far with it LOL. I would've been much more suited to Psychology or something in the Arts. I've done a huge amount of reading into psychological stuff (particularly Carl Jung) and we underestimate the subconscious mind a lot. This article I was reading the other day, which I found really helpful, was saying around 95% of our thoughts are automatic. So I imagine the subconscious as this thing that "spits" stuff into our conscious mind and when we're stressed it can get quite out of control and you get these "intrusive" thoughts. When I get really anxious I can't think straight at all and feel like I'm completely losing the plot.. It's horrific sometimes because my mind is pretty sharp when I'm calm.

Anyway, I hope that makes sense!

[Plasma]

Haha yeah, I bet! My university degree is in business but that was 20 years ago and I never got very far with it LOL. I would've been much more suited to Psychology or something in the Arts. I've done a huge amount of reading into psychological stuff (particularly Carl Jung) and we underestimate the subconscious mind a lot. This article I was reading the other day, which I found really helpful, was saying around 95% of our thoughts are automatic. So I imagine the subconscious as this thing that "spits" stuff into our conscious mind and when we're stressed it can get quite out of control and you get these "intrusive" thoughts. When I get really anxious I can't think straight at all and feel like I'm completely losing the plot.. It's horrific sometimes because my mind is pretty sharp when I'm calm.

Anyway, I hope that makes sense!

Interesting points. Do you think people with depersonalization disorder exceed the 95% of the automatic thoughts of our subconscious mind? I've read what depersonlization but I cannot even perceive it at all!

[gypsylee]

Interesting points. Do you think people with depersonalization disorder exceed the 95% of the automatic thoughts of our subconscious mind? I've read what depersonlization but I cannot even perceive it at all!

I think that's probably a good way of looking at it, yeah. I've been like that and it's really just being completely "ungrounded" and stuck in your head with racing thoughts. I wouldn't even classify depersonalisation as a specific "disorder", just something that happens to people with extreme anxiety. I've read a lot of posts on here from people suffering with it.

[2teck]

I think that's probably a good way of looking at it, yeah. I've been like that and it's really just being completely "ungrounded" and stuck in your head with racing thoughts. I wouldn't even classify depersonalisation as a specific "disorder", just something that happens to people with extreme anxiety. I've read a lot of posts on here from people suffering with it.

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[HopefulJacob96]

I'm sorry that you're struggling with panic attacks and things of that nature. In my own struggles with anxiety, I sometimes get pretty intense panic attacks too. The thoughts you mention having remind me of intrusive thoughts. Those are basically just thoughts that pop into your mind without you wanting them to. For those to be mixed with a panic attack I'm sure is pretty troubling. Are you open with a lot of people you know about these struggles? Sometimes talking with friends and family can be a tremendous help in these situations, as they provide a great in-person support system. Either way, we are here for you and I think its a really brave thing even online to be open about our struggles. Talking with people can be very therapeutic, and put us on the path to freedom from these struggles.

[Plasma]

I'm sorry that you're struggling with panic attacks and things of that nature. In my own struggles with anxiety, I sometimes get pretty intense panic attacks too. The thoughts you mention having remind me of intrusive thoughts. Those are basically just thoughts that pop into your mind without you wanting them to. For those to be mixed with a panic attack I'm sure is pretty troubling. Are you open with a lot of people you know about these struggles? Sometimes talking with friends and family can be a tremendous help in these situations, as they provide a great in-person support system. Either way, we are here for you and I think its a really brave thing even online to be open about our struggles. Talking with people can be very therapeutic, and put us on the path to freedom from these struggles.

I don't look forward going out with my girlfriend, I force myself to go so that I can keep a relationship with her. She sometimes tells me that I look scared and that I'm shaking. I force myself to go to therapy, I hate it... It's hard to go especially if you have agoraphobia and social anxiety. my heart was beating out of my chest in the waiting room a few days ago. I just feel like a burden to everyone... Maybe I need to switch therapist, but I don't want to do that cause I'll feel as if she would take it personally.