Brain racing nonstop - guilt, anxiety and panic

[Alister]

I'm trying to help my friend but even reading through these types of forums is a bit much for her right now. Does anyone have any tips for how they deal with episodes of racing thoughts, feeling guilty about how little is done and panicking over how much is left to do? What do you do to help calm yourself, or what has worked for someone you care about to relax and avoid a meltdown?

 

[intothelight]

Honestly, I battle this all the time and the only way I can control it is by just focusing on the present. By breaking things down and focusing only on the "pieces", and leaving it at that, can I keep myself from runaway anxiety. I know I am making forward progress and I have to remind myself that doing my "best" is all that anyone can do.

 

[Linda313]

This is something I struggle with at work all the time (whether it's about performance or whether people talking about me - I'm paranoid). I have gotten pretty good at stopping the racing thoughts. This may seem a bit weird, but it works for me. I literally step back and ask myself, "Does any of this really matter in the grand scheme of life?" I then imagine just how tiny and insignificant we, as humans, are in this universe. And, I know this is a bit morbid, but it works...I remind myself that we all die in the end. That interrupts my brain racing. Then, I just tell myself, "I can only do what I can do. I can work hard, but I don't have to kill myself or wear myself out." I also know I work very hard (much harder than a lot of my co-workers), and I remind myself that my job is safe and that I am a good worker.

 

[Cannottakethis]

Things that help me with racing thoughts:
Listening to relaxation music
Grounding work such as counting things around me such as floor or ceiling tiles, things of a certain color, anything with flowers etc.
Holding something cold, like an ice pack or frozen orange.
Calling a friend
Cleaning
A lot of it is trying to focus on one thing at a time. Sometimes I'll just go on Pinterest and look for funny pictures to distract myself or YouTube and find funny videos.

It's helped me to keep a list like this so if one thing doesn't work, I'll try another.

 

[Goosebumps Hunter]

This is something I struggle with at work all the time (whether it's about performance or whether peop...

It's very poignant, and its my first time here. I used to be stuck in the past (sometimes, sadly still am?) But I'm working on it...because when I was young I had an awesome childhood before it got really fu**** up
----Not to complain BTW---