Can i get help regarding overthinking and repetitive thoughts

Hi Moe, 

I am glad that you are reaching out here for support. Our minds are powerful and when our thoughts begin to spiral or get out of control, it is hard sometimes to differentiate between thoughts (cognitions) and feelings (emotions). Our thoughts impact our feelings, and vice versa. I would like to give you a few things that might be helpful as a way to work through your thoughts and feelings. 

Our thoughts are powerful, and control how we think about ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes our thoughts happen quickly, and then impact our mood quickly. This would put them in the category of something called automatic thoughts. Meaning, they just sort of show up and although they are negative and irrational, we allow them to impact how we feel about ourselves and the people around us. The first step is recognizing them when they happen and working to stop them before they impact emotion and how we feel about ourselves/others. Here is something that you might try the next time you have a thought try going through this process: 

Name the event: for example, I made a mistake. 

Name the automatic thought: for example, I made a mistake and it's irreversible. I always mess up and I can't fix it. I'm a terrible person. 

Name a new thought: I made a mistake, but I can fix this mistake. I have always been able to work through mistakes in the past. 

If you are able to replace the negative, automatic thought with a new, rational thought, it can improve and change the mood that often follows with the negative thought. 

Another approach is to examine the evidence related to the thought that comes up. For example, you can practice putting your thought on a trial of sorts to examine the evidence that is presented, often like a court trial where evidence would be presented to a judge by the prosecution and defense. The process goes like this:

Name the thought

Name the evidence for the thought - this needs to be a verifiable fact, not based on a feeling (the defense argument of the thought)

Name the evidence against the thought - same rules apply as above, this needs to be a verifiable fact, not based on a feeling (the prosecution argument against the thought)

Name the verdict of the judge - is the thought accurate? is the thought fair? are there other things that could explain the thought that you're having? (your own determination) 

These are two powerful things that you can utilize to determine your thoughts, and feelings to separate your thoughts from the feelings that will impact your mood.

Therapy is an excellent container to further explore some of these concerns. I encourage you to connect with a therapist here on BetterHelp, or locally if that is an option for you. 

I wish you all the best, 

Pilar