sorry you are having trouble w/ this. therapy can be helpful.

meditation can also teach us how to calm the mind. in meditation terms, what you are describing has been called "monkey mind", jumping from place to place, not being able to settle.

seeking some kind of help/training may help you learn how to focus and prioritize your thoughts.

wow. i have never heard what goes on in my head summarized so well.

all i can say is that you are not alone.

and andine is right, meditation and therapy can help. but it's hard when there is a part of you that knows what you are feeling is not like other people. and you want to get better, but in your mind - you can't.

Being prepared instinctively? Being centered? Knowing yourself? Accepting flaws and inconsistency? Focus, laughter, calming? Contentment. Gratitude. Joy. Being comfortable. The first step might be seeing a therapist. It is a great outlet and a good one teaches techniques as andine already mentioned. For what you've described, having a therapist is necessary to direct the suffering away from your being to something that helps rather than hurts you. Practicing meditation helps me let go of the negative energy to sense peace and wellness clearly. Medication is a major factor in reducing exaggerated, and sometimes untrue, thoughts and emotions. Try new and old hobbies pastimes to see what brings relaxation. I hope you are having a good weekend. Think good thoughts!

Thank you for your support, I will definitely work harder to succeed with therapy. I hope you are having a good weekend too.

a very simple meditation is to count your breaths and/or think about the tip of your nose. another that i like is "breathe in compassion, breathe out compassion". you can "make it up", it's your meditation. you can can meditate on "kindness", what ever you want. make it easy and simple, perhaps only start out for 5 minutes. 5 minutes is a long time.

we all have "monkey mind". :)

andine's post reminded me that coloring mandalas is very theraputic and a kind of meditation. If you do not have a printer available drawing your own is ideal.

you DEFINITELY aren't alone in this. at all. i have been experiencing these tendencies for as long as i can remember, and it definitely escalated when i started dating in late high school (i'm a college senior currently).

unfortunately, these thoughts stem from deep-seated insecurity. at least for me. and it's a HUGE struggle to work past it. i am currently in the process of learning to cope with it. and learning to tell myself to calm down, think rationally, and not trust the delusions (i can make ANYTHING seem real. it's more of a curse than anything else).

stay strong. deep breathing helps. inhale as much as you can, slowly, through your nose. exhale completely, slowly, through pursed lips, like you're blowing on soup to cool it down. it's no permanent solution, but it can help you avoid hyperventilating.

if you want to talk more, feel free to message me or respond. keeping you in my thoughts. the fight's not easy, but i think it's worth it.

Thank you so much un.chien, from the little you describe i really feel like you understand me and I am not alone in this. I don't understand where my insecurities come from.... they have been around and growing for as long as I can remember. I can do the same.. twist anything into 20 different realities or fears until nothing seems real or safe anymore and I cant even breathe. I'm here for you.

i also have these same behaviors. i have tried to meditate and find it extremely difficult! i sleep with the tv because the noise in my head is too much i cant sleep. i just run things over and over in my head, looking and analyzing. i have deep questions about existence, right and wrong, and who i really am. it's a running joke in my family and friends about how lost i am all the time. half my life is spent somewhere else?

Same here. I freak out around anyone I'm expected to talk to. I'm older than everyone in my classes but I feel like I'm not the chill experienced guy I'm supposed to be. I'm just some awkward bastard who roamed into their department and they're obliged to put up with. I imagine them all seeing straight through me, knowing that I'm physically weak, emotionally fucked up, unemployed, a virgin. I also know a lot of them would help me if this was just some shyness problem. People always try to talk to me but I say stupid shit and scare them off because I'm so nervous.

I think I need someone to live with. I might be able to build off that, someone who was as messed up as me and wants a wingman to challenge eachother, and to go over the day's events, collaboratively pointing out eachother's false assumptions from the day. To have stability without isolation for a while, and to ease into being social alongside someone else who I know understands my uneasiness and can look past it while still challenging me to step over it. I want people to feel comfortable around me, but as soon as they realize my social skills are so shallow they walk away, and I can't get a normal looking life to convince them I'm normal because I don't have any friends to practice with. It's like a never-ending cycle.