Hi there,

Sounds like you have come to the right place to chat to others feeling the same way

Man, I know that feeling that your brain in going 100km/hr and you can't stop it. It so frustrating! And every anxiety self help article/reading just tells you to breathe is the worst part! I used to think "I am breathing, but its not working and my thoughts are now getting worse. Why does the breathing seem to work for everyone but me".

Trust me, I can empathise as I also have obsessive thoughts and anxiety.

I can tell you the thing that helped me was learning that the thoughts are just that. Thoughts. Not facts. As soon as I understood this, I found that a lot of the emotion linked to the thoughts dissolved and I was able to get my brain down to at least 50km/hr. I also found a stack of podcasts out there on Itunes that helped me learn about anxiety and obsessive thoughts. Anxiety Slayer do some great podcasts. And the Anxiety Centre website is fantastic.
I also found that the more I learnt about anxiety and the more I found out about other people with obsessive thoughts helped me realise I am not alone, nor am I going crazy.

I promise you, you are not going crazy.

Oh, the other thing that helped me was when I was finding that I was having obsessive thoughts, I would write it all down. I would write every single thought down on paper. And believe me I wrote and wrote and wrote until my hand was so sore I couldn't write anymore. This was such a simple thing to do, and it helped immensely. Again, it was one of those self help methods that everyone tells you to do but you always think it won't help. Try it out, at least it will pass the time when you are at home.

Also try to look after yourself phsyically - eat healthy and exercise.

Know that you are definitely not alone. Feel free to private message me if you want to know about other methods that have helped me.