<p>so i have this little problem where i over think, and it never ends well. i’ll read a question differently than everyone else, or it will take me ten minutes to answer something that takes others like three minutes to finish, and then my answer will be twice as long as theirs. </p>
<p>i can’t really cut to the main points; i get stuck on details.</p>
<p>and then there’s the part where i can’t make my mind shut off. i’ll fixate on something that happened/how i’m feeling, and i can’t focus on schoolwork. no matter how hard i try, i can’t make my thoughts separate from what i have to do. i’m not even sure if what i’m saying makes sense lol</p>
<p>tldr: can someone give me advice on how to stop over thinking or fixating? or maybe other people have the same problem, and you wanna tell me about it so i feel less weird?</p>
<p>i’m posting this on the parents forum because i feel like i’ll get better answers from adults.</p>
<p>It sounds a lot like OCD to me. The running thoughts, the hyper attention to detail to the exclusion of tasks at hand. You should talk to a safe adult ( parents, family member or teacher) to help you carry this heavy burden. They should be able to help you find the help you need. Whatever you do, don’t try to do this alone. And take heart, the symptoms you shared can be managed, and may even be outgrown. Maturity can bring with it better ways of managing anxiety and stress. Seek help and I’m hopeful things will turn around soon!</p>
<p>How old are you? When you say you fixate on things…what kinds of things? Do you worry about things or just get caught up in a detail of something? Do you hyper focus on one thing while ignoring other things that need to get done? Does this behavior affect your quality of life? Sorry for the barrage of questions but more details are needed.</p>
<p>And, even if you have a “disorder”, well, lots of people do. You’re in good company :)</p>
<p>and i’m a 17 year old senior in high school, with lots of college apps to finish</p>
<p>i’ll fixate on anything from “planning” what to do and when to do it (which actually wastes more time than helps anything), to having bad thoughts about myself. it can be something as simple as someone saying, “your outfit’s really cute.” it doesn’t even occur to me to accept the compliment. i’ll wonder why they only commented on my outfit, and nothing else, then get insecure about it for the rest of the day. or i’ll think about what “cute” means, and end up deciding it’s insulting. or maybe something happened that’s really embarrassing, and it’s all i can think about. i just realized how shallow that makes me sound, and it’s pathetic that thoughts like those absorb my every waking moment, but that’s how it is. </p>
<p>
yes, yes</p>
<p>but that first thing about hyper focusing? yeah, that’s my biggest problem.</p>
<p>now that i gave more details, does anyone have advice on how to clear my head and focus on school?</p>
<p>i don’t think i have executive function disorder. my problem is more like obsessing over my thoughts.</p>
<p>and yes, people have told me that exercise helps. but i am sooo not that type of person. i can’t even do a push up… i have like no muscle LOL. i’ve been running a lot, though, and that does seem to help. but i barely have the energy or time to do that, and the effects wear off once i’m home.</p>
<p>Do others consider you to be very intelligent? Sometimes smart people have brains that go into overdrive like yours does. You think at length about countless things which never even enter into the brains of more average souls. In addition, you may also be too bright to overlook or forget your faults and failings, or to successfully rationalize away or justify your mistakes like other people seem to be able to do. Self-deception could be tougher for you than for the average person, for whom ignorance is bliss.</p>
<p>That said, even if you are very smart, you do need to take care of business. If you can’t, you should get help.</p>
<p>Another thought is that seasonal-affective disorder can really mess some people up and make them sort of manic. You could try using a special light to treat SAD.</p>
<p>okay, well on the issue of getting help: i do have a psychologist, but that’s really for a different reason. i mean, it makes sense that there’s something else wrong with me, too. but i do pretty much have ocd, and it makes me feel bad about myself like 24/7, so i’m sure that’s what stems the thoughts.</p>
<p>and i really don’t think i’m that intelligent, maybe a little more intelligent than average, but idk what opinion others hold of me. i’m almost too afraid to ask lol</p>
<p>if i had SAD, i think it would have been during the summer, because that’s my least favorite season of all</p>
<p>but i pretty much feel this muddled and convoluted all year, all day. it’s so much fun. sometimes my thoughts feel so chaotic, that i can’t focus on anything, and i basically have to go hide until i feel better. you can imagine how productive i am!</p>
<p>lol, yeah i know this. and i do talk about it with her. but there are more important things that we’re “working” through, and i feel weird asking for advice on these things.</p>
<p>i’m really just looking for a way to stay focused better, and to stop over thinking. i didn’t mean to get into all my problems LOL </p>
<p>but yeah, let’s pretend i’m normal, and someone give me normal advice. like the exercise thing that someone suggested, expect not that, because i hate that idea</p>
<p>So you want advice, but something that is magic, not like exercise or meditation because that takes effort?
Lol.
Btw, don’t use LED lights for SAD if you are agitated, it will make you worse.</p>
<p>first of all clementine, hugs! senior year is tough enough without feeling like your brain is working against you</p>
<p>I have had some of what you describe and my D (college junior) has had more of it – racing thoughts, she says she wants to turn her brain off so she can rest, yet she can’t get things done. She is seeing a therapist; she has given up dairy (which is tough for her as a vegetarian) and now she says she sleeps better (before, had serious insomnia).</p>
<p>One of the things that really helped me when a comment or situation would trigger the downward endless spiral of negative thoughts was talk therapy where I would really examine the trigger and find out why it caused the downward spiral. So example – if someone said “did you proof read that email before you sent it?” I would overreact because I felt they were questioning my intelligence or self-worth (when in reality they’re just asking a simple question). So the idea is: recognize the trigger (you don’t trust the compliment) then imagine hitting PAUSE on a remote that controls your brain. Just pause. For a second, or a minute, then CHOOSE how to react (instead of just reacting). It takes some effort to recognize the triggers, but maybe if you keep a journal, they will emerge.</p>
<p>The “pause” part is key. It gives you the head time to look around and think: I can react the way I always do, or I can…do nothing, or I can…shrug it off, or I can…watch one of the silly pet videos on You Tube that always make me laugh. And pretty soon, you’re not reacting the same way to the same trigger all the time.</p>
<p>OCD is an anxiety disorder and is has a lot in common with other anxiety disorders, in particular Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It sounds to me like you are dealing with an anxiety disorder. Your obsessive concern with what other people say about you or think about you may be a type of social anxiety.</p>
<p>You really should talk to your psychologist about this. Whatever reason you are going for therapy will benefit from treatment for ALL of the things that are making your life difficult. Don’t feel that you can’t bring this up. It is taking up a lot of space in your head and a lot of your energy. You need both of those things to be successful at treatment for your other issues.</p>
<p>Remember that lots of people deal with these challenges successfully. You are not alone!!!</p>
just not exercise (like weight lifting, etc.)</p>