Having racing thoughts that won’t stop is a common struggle many people face. These repetitive, unwanted thoughts can make it difficult to focus, relax, and enjoy the present moment. The good news is there are effective techniques you can use to calm your racing mind and find inner peace. With practice, you can take control of your thoughts and prevent them from spiraling out of control.
What Causes Racing Thoughts?
Racing thoughts are a form of rumination, which is the tendency to repetitively think about the same thoughts or replay events over and over in your head. Some common causes of racing thoughts include:
- Stress – When you’re under stress, worries tend to run through your mind on repeat. This is the mind’s way of trying to problem solve and prepared for possible outcomes.
- Anxiety – For people with anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obtrusive worrying thoughts are very common. Anxiety promotes hypervigilance and an overactive threat response system.
- Insomnia – Lack of sleep can make it harder to control your thoughts. Fatigue lowers mental defenses that keep unwanted thoughts at bay.
- Depression – Depressive rumination focuses on negative thoughts and memories. Dwelling on failures, regrets, and self-blame perpetuates sadness.
- Trauma – Intrusive memories or flashbacks are common after traumatic events. The mind gets stuck in a loop replaying the trauma.
- Medication side effects – Some medications like steroids may have increased energy or agitation as a side effect, making racing thoughts more likely.
While racing thoughts are a nuisance, it’s important to know they are not dangerous or harmful. But taking steps to calm them can greatly improve your quality of life. The good news is racing thoughts are highly treatable using simple mindfulness techniques.
How to Stop Racing Thoughts
Learning to manage racing thoughts takes patience and practice, but is a skill you can absolutely master with time. Here are proven techniques to help you take control of repetitive thinking and relax your mind:
1. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness means living in the present moment without getting caught up in worries about the past or future. Racing thoughts are a function of the brain’s default mode network, where your mind wanders without conscious focus on the now.
To combat this, spend dedicated time each day practicing mindfulness. Sit quietly, close your eyes, and focus solely on your breathing. When thoughts arise, gently note them and then refocus your attention back on your breath. Start with 5-10 minutes once or twice a day.
Apps like Headspace and Calm provide excellent guided mindfulness exercises for beginners. Over time, you can get better at being mindful throughout your day during routine activities.
2. Try Square Breathing
Square breathing is a fast way to center yourself when racing thoughts hit. Simply follow this 4-step sequence:
- Inhale deeply for 4 counts
- Hold breath for 4 counts
- Exhale slowly for 4 counts
- Hold empty for 4 counts
Repeat for several cycles. The focus on breath and counting engages the parasympathetic system to induce calm. Use this technique whenever you notice your thoughts speeding up.
3. Limit Worry Time
It’s impossible to block anxious thoughts altogether. So consider setting aside dedicated “worry time” each day. Start with just 10-15 minutes where you intentionally focus on your thoughts and allow them to flow freely.
Knowing this time is coming allows you to defer worrying. When racing thoughts hit, tell yourself “I can think about this during my worry time,” and redirect your attention. Keep paper nearby to jot down topics as they arise.
4. Exercise and Move Your Body
Physical activity is one of the fastest ways to clear your head. When you exercise, your brain releases mood boosting, stress-relieving chemicals like serotonin and endorphins.
Aim for 30 minutes of movement each day, or shorter bursts like a 10 minute walk. Shaking your body out of stagnation can break the rumination cycle.
5. Practice a Relaxation Response
Activities that produce a “relaxation response” in the body can short-circuit racing thoughts. The relaxation response taps the parasympathetic nervous system to induce calm. Try:
- Yoga or tai chi
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Guided imagery
- Breathwork
- Repetitive mantras
Make relaxation practices part of your daily self-care routine. Apps like Insight Timer offer thousands of free recordings to guide you.
6. Distract Yourself
Sometimes distracting yourself from your thoughts is helpful to interrupt repetitive cycles. Useful distractions include:
- Calling a friend
- Listening to a podcast
- Reading a book
- Puzzles or word games
- Cleaning or organizing
- Immersing yourself in a hobby
Have a list of healthy distractions handy to refocus your mind when needed. Just don’t rely solely on distractions without addressing the root cause.
7. Write Down Your Thoughts
Journaling or stream of consciousness writing allows you to unload the thoughts from your head onto paper. Writing can help:
- Purge repetitive thoughts from your system
- Provide an emotional release
- Help you process worries
- Identify unhelpful thought patterns
After dumping out your thoughts, you may gain clarity and feel less bogged down internally.
8. Challenge Negative Thoughts
Irrational, pessimistic thoughts often fuel anxiety and rumination. When you notice negative self-talk like “What if I fail? Nothing will work out! I can’t handle this!” stop and challenge the thought. Ask yourself:
- Is this thought distortion or fact?
- What evidence disproves this thought?
- How else could I view the situation more positively?
Replace the negative with an alternative, realistic positive thought.
9. Practice Acceptance
Some racing thoughts are from real problems you must face. Anxiety often comes from avoiding problems rather than the issues themselves.
Learning acceptance can short circuit the endless attempt to fight thoughts. Allow yourself to stay with the discomfort, while acting in line with your values. Radical acceptance takes away the power of thoughts to paralyze you.
10. Know When to Seek Help
If you’ve tried the above techniques extensively but still can’t control extreme racing thoughts, consult your doctor or a mental health professional. You may need therapy to manage underlying issues leading to chronic anxiety. Medications may also help quiet thoughts.
Getting to the root cause is key for lasting relief. Don’t give up until you find the right treatment approach that brings you inner calm.
When to Worry About Racing Thoughts
In most cases, racing thoughts are unpleasant but not dangerous. However, seek professional support if your thoughts:
- Are extreme, bizarre, or delusional
- Include suicidal or homicidal urges
- Cause severe emotional distress
- Are impacting your ability to function
See your doctor if chronic stress, anxiety, or lack of sleep from rumination is affecting your daily life. Sudden onset of racing thoughts could also indicate a medical issue needing evaluation.
Extreme rumination may be a symptom of psychiatric conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), ADHD, PTSD, schizophrenia, or bipolar mania. Proper diagnosis is key to get relief.
Tips for Coping with Racing Thoughts
While working to get your racing thoughts under control, make your environment and lifestyle as “thought friendly” as possible:
Remove Triggers
- Avoid news, media, music, or movies that amplify worry or negative emotions. Stick to positive influences.
Reduce Stressors
- Take things off your plate so you’re not overloaded. Ask for help when you need it.
Optimize Your Health
- Follow a balanced diet and stay well hydrated. Skipping meals or low blood sugar can make thoughts worse.
- Prioritize high quality sleep to manage mood andfocus.
- Reduce or eliminate caffeine if sensitive.
- Make time for regular physical activity to lift your mood naturally.
Stay Socially Connected
- Loneliness and isolation tend to breed repetitive thinking. Spend time chatting or visiting with loved ones who lift your spirits.
Avoid Drugs and Alcohol
- Drinking excessive alcohol often makes anxiety and rumination worse long-term, even if it feels relaxing in the moment.
The same goes for recreational drugs. Make healthy coping choices to protect your mental health.
Try Supplements
- Herbal supplements like ashwagandha, passionflower, and lemon balm have anti-anxiety effects for some people. Always check with your doctor first about potential interactions.
- Omega-3 fatty acids may also improve mood and reduce repetitive negative thoughts.
Healthy lifestyle habits create a solid foundation to build mental resilience.
When to Seek Professional Help
Don’t hesitate to reach out for professional support if racing thoughts continue despite your best efforts. Chronic, unmanageable anxiety takes a toll and often needs treatment to overcome.
See your primary care doctor or a mental health professional if racing thoughts:
- Feel uncontrollable
- Lead to emotional breakdowns
- Cause problems with sleep, work, or relationships
- Include suicidal thinking
- Are worsening over time
A combination of therapy and medication can be very effective in quieting a noisy, worried mind. Common treatments include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps identify and change thought patterns fueling anxiety. You learn actionable ways to interrupt rumination and false beliefs.
- Exposure therapy allows you to gradually face feared situations in a safe, controlled way to boost coping skills and confidence.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on being present even with unpleasant thoughts. You practice mindfulness while taking action aligned with your values.
- Anxiety medication like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or benzodiazepines limit fearful thinking by adjusting neurotransmitters.
Don’t lose hope – with professional guidance, you can find relief from constant worrying thoughts. Help is out there!
Key Takeaways
- Racing thoughts are a common struggle faced by many people, often fueled by stress, anxiety, poor sleep, trauma, medications, or mental health conditions.
- Effective techniques to stop racing thoughts include mindfulness, square breathing, limiting worry time, exercise, relaxation practices, distraction, journaling, and cognitive restructuring.
- Professional treatment like therapy and medication may be needed if you’ve tried self-help without success. Don’t give up on finding relief.
- Make lifestyle choices to minimize anxiety triggers. Prioritize rest, nutrition, social connection, and healthy coping skills.
- Racing thoughts are rarely dangerous, but seek medical help if they become extreme and unmanageable, or impact your daily functioning.
- Have patience. With regular practice of mind-calming skills, you can take control of your thoughts and turn down the volume of the worried mind.
The mind can be a noisy place, but you have more power than you think to find stillness and peace even amongst cluttered thoughts. By make shifts both inward and outward, relief from repetitive thinking is within your reach. Stay mindful, focused and consistent – you’ve got this!
Frequently Asked Questions About Racing Thoughts
Why do I have worse racing thoughts at night?
Racing thoughts often get more intense when you’re trying to sleep. At night, your defenses are down. It’s natural for anxieties to surface when you don’t have work and life demands to act as a distraction. Fatigue also makes it harder to manage thoughts effectively.
Practice good “sleep hygiene” like limiting screen time before bed, keeping a consistent schedule, and calming your mind with a pre-bed routine. Give yourself permission to get up and jot down or pray through nighttime worries, so you’re not laying in bed ruminating.
See your doctor if insomnia from racing thoughts is ongoing, as medications or therapy for anxiety may help.
Are racing thoughts a sign of mental illness?
Not necessarily. Nearly everyone experiences unwanted, repetitive thoughts from time to time. Racing thoughts only indicate mental illness if they:
– Are extreme or delusional
– Include scary urges to harm yourself/others
– Cause severe life impairment
See a doctor or mental health professional if your thoughts are radically out of touch with reality. Conditions like schizophrenia, mania, OCD, and depression can cause more pathological rumination.
But for most people, racing thoughts are just a sign of high anxiety levels – not mental illness. Simple stress management and cognitive behavioral techniques can bring relief.
Why do racing thoughts come and go?
The severity of racing thoughts often fluctuates depending on your stress levels, sleep patterns, diet, and hormonal changes. For instance, thoughts may worsen around your period due to hormonal shifts. Or high-pressure times at work may ratchet up your worrying mind.
Try tracking your thought patterns in relation to your lifestyle habits and life events. This can help you identify triggers to address. Maintaining healthy routines better equips you to handle temporary spikes of anxiety.
How long does it take to stop racing thoughts with meditation?
This varies greatly by individual and severity of your thoughts. Consistency is key. The more you train your brain through mindfulness meditation, the easier it becomes to pull yourself out of rumination. Think long-term skill building.
Many notice decreased thought intensity after 2-4 weeks of daily practice. But it takes at least 8 weeks of meditation for racing thoughts to meaningfully subside for most people. Stick with it and be patient with yourself. Progress will come.