Attacked By A Flock of Birds?

[cragger65]

Has anyone else had the experience of your thoughts "attacking" you, like being swarmed by a flock of angry, meat-eating birds, swooping and pecking at your head?

Not like a hallucination, I don't mean that, but this is the way my brain percieved it, so it's the best way I can describe it.

Very curious.
Dave

 

[Cindy]

I call that flooding

I don't get a physical sensation like the pecking if that is what you were incidating. But having a million disjointed thought flashing through my brain and pulling my emotions in every direction - that I do experience. Usually when I am triggered, having a flashback, or angry.

Once it begins I don't know any fast or easy way to slow it down and redirect. Mainly because your sucked up into the storm so it's hard to seperate and redirect.

Cindy

 

[cragger65]

This is exactly what I'm talking about (no, there is no actual sensation of being pecked, just an overload of the mind, out of control, swirling thoughts). This used to scare the hell out of me, I was always so much more level headed (or so I believed) in my "former life", so to speak.

I think I'm on about my 7th life now... is this the lucky one??? lol

 

[Irton Pike]

I have had terrible problems with my mind racing over the years. My thoughts come way too fast to hold onto. It has destroyed my concentration. It is at its worst when i am "up"/hypervigillant. Which I have been for most of the last 12 years to be honest.

 

[cragger65]

This is the essential problem I've had with CBT all along - it teaches to deal directly with the thought, but I could never get my mind to slow down long enough to isolate and put my finger on exactly what the thought was. There's a hundred of them in a high speed blender - which single thought am I to deal with? This seems to be getting better for me with meditation and bio-feedback, however. I'm no longer interested in finding the solution, symptom management is just grand as far as I'm concerned right now.

 

[Salu]

I used to have a similar problem, maybe the same. Overwhelming and out of control and there were times when that grew into panic attacks.

Breathing made it a bit easier and then I went on AD´s for a short period of time and that seemed to help too. I still had it, but it made me sort of see it from distance so I could pinpoint the main thought or problem or whatever you would like to name it.

It´s something you might want to discuss with your doctor, its hard to get proper sleep like this and I still think proper rest is crucial part of the treatment.

 

[Tinyflame]

I agree, re: "symptom management" is a more manageable goal for me.

I find breathing techniques and mindfulness work the best for me in conjunction; I try to focus on which emotion is the strongest - I think the emotion(s) associated with the particular thoughts are at the heart of oftentimes a particular trigger. Then, once I can recognize that much, I can slow myself down/ distract myself a bit, tell myself this is NOT occuring in this moment ..and if necessary just tell my brain to "F-off" and let me focus on one (or at least maximum 5 or so) thoughts at a time!

It usually works if I stop, remember to apply it, and resolve to center myself on one thought opposite to what the trigger is bringing up.

 

[cragger65]

Salu, you are so right that sleep has a huge impact on this. My sleep has been choppy as of late, and I have no doubt that is part of the problem.

Junebug, I like your idea of finding the feeling itself. I've been trying to just "sit with the feeling" as they say, and keep my focus there without allowing my thoughts to feed and fuel it any further. It seems to be helping. (I think?)

 

[Kunoichi]

I too have issues with my thoughts going out of control. I thought i was going crazy because I couldn't control them!

I have noticed it increases with my lack of sleep.

 

[Cindy]

Old timer opinion ...

Been with this process a long time. Racing thoughts and loss of focus occur frequently when you are hypervigilent and very symptomatic.
CBT is not about focusing on one thought all the time but also finding common processes or reactions to similar thoughts. Trying to retrain your response to these thoughts by practicing.

CBT has really worked for me, I often times have no clue what is triggering me and CBT has taught me to be aware of my thoughts and cues that occur. Consequently monitoring my actions or perceptions of the situation.

Another strategy that has deeply impacted my processing of events or feelings is DBT - Dialactic Behavioral Therapy. I learned this when I was in the hospital after a suicide attempt. It is quick and responsive to the situation at the time.

Racing thoughts can lead to a panic attack - absolutely. Sometimes what I have done in order to slow them down is to sit down and just start making the list as the fly through my brain. Sometimes there is a pattern or repeating thought that isn't so random.

Just remember to B R E A T H E !!!

Cindy

 

[jeapea]

I don't think there was ever a time I didn't have thoughts running rampant through my mind. And, being hypervigilent .. I don't remember not being like that, either.... I felt like I could 'keep up' with them and stay organized and just operated in 'super human' mode, multitasking everything as if it was completely normal. And for me, I guess it was.

My kids and friends called me an 'over-acheiver' and laughed about it. So did I. Until 5 years ago when I hit the wall. Now, nothing is the same and I just wish I could clear my mind and be still sometimes. I'm not organized or active with what flies around in there and none of it makes a lot of sense anyway.

 

[cragger65]

Jps, I'm in much the same boat. Over achiever my whole life, miraculous recovery after major car accident due to constant hard work, hit the wall 5 1/2 years ago and I've never been the same.