Umm, so where abouts is the off button?

chrisbucks — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 06:50:58 -0800

I can't stop thinking, and it's destroying my life! I over think and over analyse every damn situation, it's causing me major depression and stealing my sleep, so how do I stop? Pretty much I over think everything, to the point that it's starting to ruin my academic career, my job, my relationships and everything else!

I find sleeping difficult, because my thoughts tend to peak later at night, as do my creative ideas, so I stay up late frequently, often I'll decide to go to bed, but eventually get restless and go back on the net or read a book. I'll be about to fall asleep then I recall something I read earlier in the day, or something that someone said, so I find myself compelled to go look it up, or 'resolve it' to myself.

It plays havoc with relationships or even potential relationships, seemingly small issues snowball because I sit around pondering how I could have done XYZ differently, or how I should do so and so tomorrow and spend a lot of time pre-judging how I should handle certain situations. I'm sure if you check out my ask.mefi history you'll see a pattern of that kind of stuff (there's some self analysis going on!)

My last few relationship messed up because I dwelled on details too often and never allowed myself to just enjoy where I was...

I suppose it doesn't help that I don't have many friends to distract me, I wouldn't say I'm introverted though.

Sometimes this over active brain I have is very useful, and I don't want to just lose it, but there are times when I wish I could just find the off switch and go into idle mode and just enjoy existance, instead of worrying about details.

Ideally I just need to get laid and chill the ____ out, but I was hoping or a more internal solution that was immediately accessable. Therapy, medication and assorted other things are workable solutions?

I don't actually recall a point in my life where things weren't like this, but I'm pretty sure I was happy at one point...

Relevant biographics: I'm a 22 year old male, media graduate (or close to it) in NZ.

Overactive imagination. Disorder?

treepour — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:58:01 -0800

Overactive imagination. Disorder? 35 years old, male, anxiety disorders out the wazoo (panic, OCD, social). For years, I've noticed another aspect of my psyche that doesn't quite fit what I imagine the "normal" footprint to be, but the psychiatrists to whom I've mention it have always dismissed my concern over it as just another way of generating anxiety. I'm prepared to accept their explanation, but I'm also not sure I've really been able to accurately articulate what I'm experiencing. What I'm looking for is accounts from other mefites who have had similar experiences (described below) and possibly sought a diagnosis and/or help for them.

For most I've my life, I've experienced incredibly vivid mental imagery. I've never believed in alternate universes, had imaginary friends, etc. I've never constructed intricate fantasy worlds and/or scenarios that I feel in danger of confusing with reality. It's all images, but I don't seem to have much control over them.

The imagery ranges from abstract to cartoonish to vividly realistic, and is generally fantastic or surreal in character. The images almost never form stories or narratives, tend to vanish or morph into something else as quickly as they arise, and there may or may not be any connection between successive images. They often reflect my moods -- if I'm in a good mood, I'll sometimes see pleasant images, if I'm feeling especially anxious, I might see horrific and disturbing images. They can be particularly strong when I'm falling asleep -- sometimes, drifting off to sleep, I watch them morph from one thing into another, and am unsure when this process stops and dreaming begins. Sometimes I catch a flash of an image whose detail is far too complex for me to take in completely before it changes into something else.

I tend to actively engage this faculty when writing poetry (which I'm pursuing in graduate school right now), so I don't want it to go away completely. But at times, it's invasive, and the images are strong and vivid enough to be significantly distracting. And the fact that I don't seem to be entirely in control of them also bothers me. I guess I shouldn't expect to be in complete control, since they're probably welling-up from my subconscious -- but I would at least like to be able to tune them out better than I can.

Anyhow, I know I'm writing to audience of IANAMHP's or IANAP's, so please understand that I'm not wanting the hive-mind to diagnose me. Rather, I'm curious as to whether anyone out there has experienced something similar, what was/is useful for you in coping with it, and whether you've pursued it with mental health professionals (and, if so, whether or not you found it helpful to do so).

Phew, that was a lot. Thanks for reading!

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Umm, so where abouts is the off button?

Overactive imagination. Disorder?