We may let our thoughts divert us at any hour of the day. Because everyday occurrences can easily divert our attention from an activity or stream of thinking, we frequently feel lost. A smartphone, an advertisement, or some other surrounding disturbance is all it takes to divert our attention. Losing thoughts, which is sometimes mistaken for daydreaming, can actually be far more harmful to us because it can generate anxiety and stress.
Symptoms Of Why Do I Get Lost In My Thoughts
Each person experiences “losing my mind” differently. This can occur in many different ways, such as:
- Irrational, panicked thoughts
- Being in danger but not feeling intimidated
- Labored breathing and a rapid heartbeat
- Experiencing headaches and stomachaches
- Feeling estranged from oneself or one’s environment
- Having anxiety or disaster-related emotion
- Feeling unwell or having a health problem
- Difficulties relaxing or focusing
- Inability to sleep
Why Do I Get Lost In My Thoughts
Just as everyone feels this way differently, there are many reasons why you might be thinking “I feel like I’m losing my mind.” These feelings and ideas can occasionally bring a variety of different things. For instance, higher-than-usual levels of stress in your life might make your anxiety disorder worse. High levels of concern can occasionally cause depersonalization or derealization episodes, which can make you feel “out of your mind.”
Stress
Stress can be caused by a variety of circumstances, including a stressful job environment, marital or family conflict, stress brought on by a health crisis, parental stress, or stress brought on by being aware of disturbing world events. Our bodies release the hormones cortisol and adrenaline in response to stress, which puts us on “high alert.” This gives us the sensation that our minds are in a mess. These hormones cause our hearts to beat quickly and our breathing to become shallow. We respond to stimuli differently when we are under a lot of stress, which might cause us to feel uneasy all the time or startle at loud noises. We may feel like we are “losing it” as a result of everything going on.
Anxiety
In a very stressful scenario, you could feel more anxious. Anxiety can strike people with anxiety disorders for no apparent reason at all. Regardless of the situation, anxiety and anxiety disorders can leave us feeling powerless, “mad,” or as though we are going insane.
Panic Attacks
A panic attack can be an extremely frightening experience. If it’s your first time having one, you could not understand what’s going on and think you’re crazy. Although you can usually pinpoint what triggers a panic attack, it does happen occasionally that they come on suddenly.
Panic attacks can make you feel as though you’re going crazy since you can believe something terrible is happening when nothing of the sort actually occurs. Even though your rational mind knows that nothing is wrong and a portion of your mind is trying to convince you otherwise. You could feel disconnected from reality and as though something is wrong with you if this happens to you.
Depersonalization/Derealization
If you have just experienced a traumatic event, an extended period of extremely high anxiety, and/or panic episodes, depersonalization may start to happen. Depersonalization and derealization recognize the symptoms of dissociative disorders. These symptoms characterize a dissociation between a person’s ideas and self or identity.
Five Methods To Get You Out Of Your Head
Understanding how to deal with getting lost is essential. This will prevent a bad influence from having an irreversible impact on our life. Here are 5 suggestions for stopping your stray thoughts:
Get ready to “go there”
Although it would seem like a method for doing the complete opposite of clearing your thoughts, it isn’t. Once you become aware of your inner thoughts, you can process them and then let them go. Most individuals were taught that it is better to keep your feelings to yourself than to express them, especially those in your generation. This is one of the most damaging misconceptions you have since it implies that nothing ever actually gets digested and instead things just keep going around in your thoughts. But one way to deal with problems is to talk about them.
Be slightly inappropriate
This strategy might work the best, but it’s not as easy as it seems. In spite of the fact that it hasn’t been “proven” scientifically, you’ve undoubtedly observed it in action a lot: You may have noticed that once the initial shock subsides, answering a question that initially sounds a little too personal actually feels great since it elevates the conversation. The truth is that most of us genuinely want to connect and be more open with one another, but because it’s so ingrained in us to not offend someone or reveal too much, we simply don’t know how to go about it.
Talk to a stranger
A new University of Chicago study found that conversing with a complete stranger on the bus or train dramatically boosted the emotions of subjects. Surprisingly, it also improved the stranger’s mood. Once more, this is probably a product of our want to interact more with others, particularly strangers, but also of our skepticism of how others may feel about it. Undoubtedly, they appear to. Try making a modest deviation from the norm to show the other person that you are willing to feel a little more connected. Talk to the passenger sitting next to you in the van as an alternative. You can be sure that doing so will make you feel better and make both your and his days better.
Focus on someone else
Many people contend that because helping others is such a terrific way to better oneself, doing so is essentially selfish. We already know this, and the evidence is in favor of it. People who offered their time for a range of causes expressed more life satisfaction, happiness, and self-worth than those who did not.
Helping others benefits you since it makes you put your own troubles aside and concentrate on something else. If you’re a parent, you’re aware that concentrating on someone else produces a similar outcome.
When you genuinely set out to devote your time to someone else or a cause, you’ll discover that it’s a very effective strategy to divert attention from yourself. If someone is looking down, it could be a good idea to ask if they need to talk. Just by asking them that, you’ll make them feel better. It will also benefit you in other ways.
Learn what mindfulness really is
If you’re still having difficulties managing your thoughts, consider practicing a couple of fast mindfulness exercises whenever you become aware of them. Although it has lately grown in popularity, mindfulness is a helpful method for thoughtful reflection. While you research it, try to put off thinking about anything you catch yourself pondering. It’s important to pay attention to your feelings, the underlying causes, and how your body is handling them. It can sometimes be significantly less terrifying with just an inquisitive glance.
The Bottom Line
The phrase “I feel like I’m going insane” is just a stress reaction or an exacerbation of a mental health issue. The majority of issues can be treated with relaxation methods or advice from a mental health professional. Frenetic thinking and a feeling of powerlessness may occasionally be symptoms of a more serious mental illness. If you hear voices, have difficulties sleeping or eating, or have suicidal or self-harming ideas, you should get help as soon as you can.