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Posted 12/12/2008 1:44 AM (GMT 0)
Hello All,

I'm having a very weird problem.
My mind keeps thinking about something when ever it is idle.
I'm not able to restrict it. Most of the times it is negative thoughts rather than positive. That is creating me more stressed out. It is indirectly effecting on my digestive tract which in turn aggravating my UC.
Does anybody of you have these kind of problems?
Please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions to take control of it, be positive and keep our self cool.

Hopefully i will get some good techniques from you guys...........

Thanks All for all your inputs
Posted 12/12/2008 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
Find a hobby, play a game, exercise... etc. When I have went through a few rough spots in life, I found hobbies to take up my idle time and forget about the real world.

Actually if you use positive affirmations whenever you start to think of the negative stuff, you won't have the mind space to think of anything but what you are saying.
Posted 12/12/2008 1:58 AM (GMT 0)
I wonder if what you're going through could be described as "morbid thoughts."

If you feel like you have no control over your thoughts, and if the thoughts are "morbid" in nature - -

I would look up Obsessive Compulsive disorders, most people think of people who can't stop washing their hands, but there is a subtype of OCD called "Pure O." Apparently these folks suffer only from the obsession and not any obvious compulsion (ie hand washing).

I hope this isn't what you are describing, because I know how rough it can be. I have posted on this board numerous times about OCD and the immune system. My layman's hypothesis (I am not a professional) is some type of immune complex or pathogen crossing the blood brain barrier. There is much info on OCD and autoimmune disease if you google.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not qualified to diagnose anything, and there are probably many different things that can go on other than OCD in that area.

PS - do you find things happening like getting songs "stuck" in your head?

Posted 12/12/2008 2:54 AM (GMT 0)
Just curiousity, and I don't mean to hijack the thread, but doesn't EVERYBODY get songs stuck in their head? Or am I also OCD?

I have had friends with the problem you describe; they call them "intrusive" thoughts. All are mothers, and all describe having thoughts about their children having horrible accidents like falling down a well intruding in their minds. I think Dr-A's advice to use positive affirmations is a good one, and also just try to tell yourself that your mind has created a negative thought, but you are choosing to think about something else (i.e., you are in control of your thoughts). And then have a positive affirmation to replace the negative thoughts.

If the timing is right, you could also call a friend to chat, or do any other pleasant activity to distract yourself.

Best to you --
Posted 12/12/2008 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
Kind of sounds like anxieties issues (OCD is considered an anxiety disorder) maybe? I remember prior to starting effexor I would lie awake in bed for 2 hours with my mind running, thinking, making lists, worrying about things and I couldn't do anything to shut those thoughts out. It totally sucked and I felt icky when I had a lot going on. If you find its really bothering I'd see your doctor. You don't have to feel like that all the time :)
Posted 12/12/2008 5:10 AM (GMT 0)

emory said...
Just curiousity, and I don't mean to hijack the thread, but doesn't EVERYBODY get songs stuck in their head? Or am I also OCD?

I have had friends with the problem you describe; they call them "intrusive" thoughts. All are mothers, and all describe having thoughts about their children having horrible accidents like falling down a well intruding in their minds. I think Dr-A's advice to use positive affirmations is a good one, and also just try to tell yourself that your mind has created a negative thought, but you are choosing to think about something else (i.e., you are in control of your thoughts). And then have a positive affirmation to replace the negative thoughts.

If the timing is right, you could also call a friend to chat, or do any other pleasant activity to distract yourself.

Best to you --

Sorry, I was describing something from personal experience, I have no idea if it is a diagnostic category in the DSM, as I said I am not diagnosing anything just responding to a post.  Certainly not my intention to label anyone as OCD for having a song stuck in their head.  So I certainly wouldn't be the one to ask if you are OCD, that would probably need to be a mental health evaluation by a professional.   

I know in depression there can be a tendency to engage in "catastrophic" thinking, rumination etc.  There is a good book about things like that called "Feeling good, the new mood therapy" by David Burns. 

Posted 12/12/2008 6:33 AM (GMT 0)
All I can say is when I was going through terrible depression and anxiety due to my stupid IBD flaring severely I had a lot of morbid type thoughts go through my mind, I was in a very dark place mentally and physically and it was hard putting on a "happy or normal" face during that time...HW has been a great outlet for me that way, concentrating more on the troubles of others took my mind off my own troubles for a bit, then exercising regularly, finding the natural products that help with my symptoms and finally starting to feel somewhat human again all rolled into one brought me out of my severe depression and my anxiety for the most part (of course I still worry about where bathrooms are in unfamiliar places and situations but that's likely the norm for an IBDer in general.

:)
Posted 12/12/2008 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
I very much agree on the "Feeling Good" book by David Burns. There are some very good techniques in that book for dealing with run away thoughts like you are describing. Exercise will help too, as well as getting some sunshine each day if you can.

When I got really sick with UC and a tooth infection, I had to resort to anti-anxiety/anti-depression medications. They have worked well for me. So talk to your doctor if the book and the exercise, etc. isn't enough.
Posted 12/12/2008 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
I have experienced the same thing during the night.  It usually occurs when I need to eat a snack or when I am sick or rundown.  When my thought are racing down into morbidity and if eating doesn't make it stop, I have taken back control of my thoughts by....... talking to myself.  Not in the kind of mental shorthand we normally use, but in fully formed sentences on a subject that I generally find pleasant.  Or I just expound on all the positive influences in my life past, present and future.   Speaking (silently) as if someone is listening  involves your brain enough so that it cannot take off in a direction you don't want it to.  

 I know how odd this sounds, but it works for me and my sister. It is kind of like meditation for people who can't shut their brain up.

Also for added concentration I sometimes mime typing every word I am saying (in my head).

I hope this doesn't sound too crazy. 

Posted 12/12/2008 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
I think this is normal for anyone with a chronic illness.

Tools that have worked for me when I get stuck in a thought mode are:

1. voice it - sometimes if I can just voice my fear or anxiety it helps to get it out of my head.
2. write about it - again, another way to get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
3. a psychologist once had me write out a list of my fear of UC, then she had me write out what would happen if each fear came true, an finally how did I think I could help my fears not come true. This was hard to do but EXTREMELY helpful because it made me realize that while some of the situations I feared and could obsess over weren't going to kill me or really be a long-term issue or problem.
4. Deep, rhythmic breathing - this is very calming and mind-clearing
5. meditaion tapes - again, relaxing and mind-clearing
6. if you can't work it out on your own a psychologist can be very helpful. I went twice a month for about a year. My husband even went to talk about living with someone with a chronic illness. This was ten years ago, and things are much better and very different for my physically with my UC, but it helped both of us immensely and we still use many of the communication tools we learned.

I think it's normal to get these feelings but you have to learn how to work through them so they don't take over.

Cheers,
Elizabeth
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