How To Identify That You Are Ruminating/thinking Too Much

[DannyIrons™]

Sometimes it's difficult to realise that we are inside our own heads - regretting the past, worrying about the future and probably most of all - contemplating random useless thoughts that have no use for us at all.

For me, the biggest identifier of a fast mind is when I have a song stuck in my head, it will keep replaying and I will sometimes be oblivious to this, but I think it's really helpful in realising that I am not in the present moment.

What are other people's identifiers for a fast mind?

 

[biffbelvin]

I find imagining a scenario is quite helpful, though I only do this at night when i'm trying to unwind and go to sleep. My particular scenario goes as follows:

There's a man in a room, dimly lit by a nearby fire in a fireplace. He's sat in an antique leather chair and there's a bookcase behind him.​

The Scenario itself is irrelevant, so long as it's not too 'busy', the point is that one can use it as a barometer for how 'fast' they're mind is going. If I'm going at 100mph, his face is a blur and I have difficulty picking out the details in the scene, the contours of the furniture etc. I'll then follow it up with breathing exercises and - if that doesn't send me to sleep - revisit the scenario and see how much more detail there is.

When I'm really overthinking, I start to self-talk. I think this is a way for my brain to pick out a thread, slow it down (since it needs to be verbalised) and make it more tangible. It's completely unproductive, but it's easier to be mindful of (and then stop). For me there are several things that provoke this behaviour which I've listed below. If I manage these properly my mind isn't as busy.

• Extended periods of time alone, or without interaction with friends/family (this applies at work too. A 5 minute chat really helps me decompress)
• Being Sedentary
• Browsing my Phone, and returning to it constantly
• Reading into Health/Nutrition on this forum and the internet in general for too long.
• Playing Videogames for more than 90 minutes
• Over-planning in too much detail

I'm sure a lot of people here will understand why these are problematic.

 

[Jennifer]

For me, the biggest identifier of a fast mind is when I have a song stuck in my head, it will keep replaying and I will sometimes be oblivious to this, but I think it's really helpful in realising that I am not in the present moment.

What are other people's identifiers for a fast mind?

That's my biggest identifier too. I've noticed it happens mainly when I've eaten something that results in brain fog or I'm feeling anxious. I'm an Aquarius so excessive thinking is like breathing to me (lol) but when it becomes too much even for me, I actually quiet my mind with music. Swimming works for me too, but I don't currently have regular access to a pool or other larger bodies of water so I make do by soaking in the tub.

 

[Hans]

Creating too many scenarios and just procrastinating and postponing what I should do.

I think a lot of it is to do with excess copper and low histamine.

 

[Runenight201]

I believe it was Slavoj Zizek who quoted someone else who said that moments of pure genius require hysteria, since they are so outside the norm of human thought patterns. (I'm sure I butchered that, but it was something along those lines)

Instead of trying to run away from the mania, why not engage and capitalize on it? It can be quite fun. When my mind is running very quickly, I use it to my advantage, perhaps through creation of a story, or of engaging in speed rap/poetry/speaking, or of engaging in some other demanding mental energy activity. What I've found is that eventually I'll run out of energy, and my brain will just calm down, as the mania has passed, and I'm left tired.

There's a concept of sexual transmutation of energy, where our sexual energy is changed into creation. Perhaps this same concept could be applied to excessive rumination. Instead of directing the thoughts towards ideas of the past, future, self, or whatever, change them into some act of creation.

Now, if one is physical/mentally exhausted, but the excessive rumination continues, then THAT is a sign of "cancerous" neurology, in which the brain is stuck in thinking glycolysis! (am I getting that right?)

Different ideas to play around with. For anyone who has experienced depression, fatigue, low brain activity, etc.... sometimes a little mania can be quite engaging! As long as it's able to die down, or it doesn't lead to delusion, because then we're treading into pathological states....

P.S. Realize I completely failed to answer the original topic! I got more excited by the asides than the original question! The song loop, repeating the same thoughts, other OCD like behavior usually do it for me. But moreso in the pathological sense. I quite enjoy thinking, to be honest I don't run from it, but fully embrace it. I could live in my head all day! I think a tell tale sign of pathological thinking would be the inability to complete a task, listen to a conversation and not get distracted, follow a train of thought to the end and not cut out midway through.

 

[Jpkoepse]

Read Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now". I did this and it is changing my life. It's about mindfulness, living in the present, abandoning the ego and what true inner peace is. You may have heard of all these things before but until you really put effort into reading and understanding these concepts, it's all just a superficial understanding. Having said that, I'm still early on my journey.

 

[Arnold Grape]

For me, the biggest identifier of a fast mind is when I have a song stuck in my head, it will keep replaying and I will sometimes be oblivious to this, but I think it's really helpful in realising that I am not in the present moment.

Having specific songs, movie dialogue and other sayings repeating in your head is a sign of spectrum disorders. Meanwhile, I think that lowering stress hormones is somehow the ticket to concentration. (I am actually somewhat amazed by this fact.) I would urge you to take a large dose of magnesium, ingest 2 aspirin or take a large dose of Progesterone when you are feeling weird to illustrate this point.

 

[DannyIrons™]

Some awesome replies here - it's a really interesting topic. I definitely find watching videos on YouTube and reading the news really whacks up my obsessive 'jumpy' thinking and anxiety.

I find that if I write down all my daily objectives the night before the following day, it helps to get things off my head and onto paper - does anyone here write a diary or journal? People used to do it all the time. I've never done it because I'm a little afraid of my thoughts, and find it strange talking about 'myself' - even writing this feels odd.

I've been a fast thinker since a young child, it has meant that I am prone to zone out of conversations which makes me come across that I'm only interested in myself, but it's not true - my mind wanders like god knows what.

 

[DannyIrons™]

Having specific songs, movie dialogue and other sayings repeating in your head is a sign of spectrum disorders. Meanwhile, I think that lowering stress hormones is somehow the ticket to concentration. (I am actually somewhat amazed by this fact.) I would urge you to take a large dose of magnesium, ingest 2 aspirin or take a large dose of Progesterone when you are feeling weird to illustrate this point.

How much magnesium? I find much of any salt/mineral gives me heartburn. Also progestorone makes me feel spaced and and makes me break out in horrific back acne.

 

[Arnold Grape]

How much magnesium? I find much of any salt/mineral gives me heartburn. Also progestorone makes me feel spaced and and makes me break out in horrific back acne.

Magnesium Bicarbonate water made with Milk of Magnesia seems to be the most bioavailable form, although others may have different recommendations. The best way of obtaining information about making this formula is to view one of many YouTube videos that offer careful instruction. (It’s easier to make than it seems at the outset.)

From the concentrated mixture I have found it beneficial to consume approximately 4 oz. x 4 oz. mixture of magnesium bicarbonate and orange juice or lemonade. Your needs may differ, but I have found it beneficial to consume this about two times a week. A word of warning is not to drink more than a .5 liter in one day or you might reach your threshold — start slow.

 

[DannyIrons™]

Magnesium Bicarbonate water made with Milk of Magnesia seems to be the most bioavailable form, although others may have different recommendations. The best way of obtaining information about making this formula is to view one of many YouTube videos that offer careful instruction. (It’s easier to make than it seems at the outset.)

From the concentrated mixture I have found it beneficial to consume approximately 4 oz. x 4 oz. mixture of magnesium bicarbonate and orange juice or lemonade. Your needs may differ, but I have found it beneficial to consume this about two times a week. A word of warning is not to drink more than a .5 liter in one day or you might reach your threshold — start slow.

What do you find is the benefit of taking Magnesium? - I know it's pretty much one of the main go to supplements for relaxation & sleep etc... I've also seen posts where some people think magnesium is an overrated health fad too..

Be interested to know your thoughts.

 

[Arnold Grape]

For me personally I work in a semi-stressful environment, where I need to achieve some type of inner calm within the miasma going on around me. Some type of balance, I feel, is achieved with the aforementioned, where continuous use of alternate suggestions (I’ve tried a lot of them) seemed to mess me up when used regularly.

It seems advantageous to supplement Mg if you eat a decent amount of calcium — all benefits have occurred during bright, summer months where I have been getting a lot of sunlight, so hopefully this effect will not wear off: it’s worth a try.

If you’re somewhat confident, I would recommend taking a strong dose between meals on a weekend to get an idea of the effects. Watch out for stomach upset

 

[morgan#1]

What are other people's identifiers for a fast mind?

This is cool that you’re bringing this up (especially cause it makes you a little uncomfortable). Thoughts drain me of my energy, and I find when i’m Ruminating too much (which is often for me) I’m either tracing the pictures on my wall or if I’m in bed tracing the ceiling fan. Of course while thoughts are going in my head. And when I get out of bed I’m exhausted from all the thoughts going around in my head. So, I suppose lack of energy=fast mind. That’s one thing to make me realize how big a hold the mind has on us. And me tracing the externals; how it’s like a machine; look at the internet and computers. They didn’t spring from nowhere. They came from our minds creating an existence for them.

Also ive had an insight that the older we get there’s a lot of s.hit in our minds (traveling, if we travel; job experiences, etc), and for every 10 years that go by there’s that much memory in our heads. I think you’d find a lot of ruminating in the elderly...but who knows. And if we’ve had a cookie cutter life, all lollipops, it’s fine. But if we’ve had struggles, it’s hard; memory after memory of bad s hit. That’s probably where a large chunk of depression comes into play. There’s electric shock therapy for severely depressed people; they say it erases “bad” memories.

Edit: fast “inner” mind=lack of energy
Fast “outer” mind= more energy
“Outer”=anything not self-involved

 

[ebs]

That's my biggest identifier too.

Same here. Very good example that I can relate too all too well. And it's most often a song I can't stand either (the usual current pop music crappy tunes).

Anyway, this is a good thread and I will try to implement some of the ideas given here.

 

[ebs]

Creating too many scenarios and just procrastinating and postponing what I should do.

Paralysis by analysis.

 

[Hans]

Paralysis by analysis.

I won't necessarily say that. But when I'm in a state of overthinking, not necessarily in a state of indecision, I just calm the mind and focus on what's truly important and what will make the most difference in that senario.
There's actually a lot of easy ways to get out of that state, but you just have to realize you're in that state first.

 

[danishispsychic]

Creating too many scenarios and just procrastinating and postponing what I should do.

I think a lot of it is to do with excess copper and low histamine.

I agree, bc when you take iodine in the right doses and boron as well, you can really feel a whole big difference in the way you think.. or at least I can.

 

[Mufasa]

Watching nature helps me a lot. If I don't have access to nature, I watch the clouds.

 

[Homo Consumericus]

Creating too many scenarios and just procrastinating and postponing what I should do.

I think a lot of it is to do with excess copper and low histamine.

Interesting, I have a problem with procrastination as well. However, I thought it was due, among other things, to low copper (history of high dose zinc supplements) and excess histamine (seasonal allergies).

 

[Homo Consumericus]

I agree, bc when you take iodine in the right doses and boron as well, you can really feel a whole big difference in the way you think.. or at least I can.

Have experienced this too. Not sure what to make of boron yet since experimenting recently began, but it feels like it has made me less robotic and increased EQ. Iodine makes my mind work faster and more than just one or two drops of 5% Lugols feels like it tips the balance into hyperthyroidism (high temps, racing mind, obsession, verbosity, mania, insomnia).