{"id":3404,"date":"2020-07-24T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/?p=3404"},"modified":"2020-07-24T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T06:30:00","slug":"racing-thoughts-and-how-i-tackled-them-from-racing-through-my-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/24\/racing-thoughts-and-how-i-tackled-them-from-racing-through-my-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Racing thoughts and how I tackled them from racing through my mind?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Anxiety is not new to any of us. <a href=\"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/2019\/12\/14\/overthinking-could-be-more-than-a-habit\/\">Overthinking<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/2020\/05\/01\/night-time-anxiety-is-real-here-is-how-to-deal-with-it\/\">night-time anxiety<\/a> and racing thoughts, all seem to be permanent accompaniments in our lives now. The lock-down has indeed add fuel to fire in the case of stress and anxiety. Just the other day, I was talking to a friend, who literally is, \u2018saath samundar par\u201d! We realised that besides everything else that we have in common, racing thoughts and rapid heartbeat is something, we have in common too. We compared our symptoms of anxiety and did have a good laugh over it. On a serious note, these symptoms and conditions can worsen if not tapped on, at the right moment. My spouse and I often discuss about keeping ourselves <a href=\"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/2020\/04\/05\/your-mind-needs-a-break-too\/\">calm<\/a> and look at ways to improve our emotional and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/236x\/bc\/fc\/19\/bcfc1918202a0df8c960a7a6c35bddbf.jpg\" alt=\"Eckhart Tolle Reveals How To Silence The Racing Thoughts In Your Mind\"\/><figcaption>https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/236x\/bc\/fc\/19\/bcfc1918202a0df8c960a7a6c35bddbf.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, racing thoughts are not just connected to anxiety. They could be underlying symptoms to various health conditions such as, thyroid, bipolar disorder, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhlbi.nih.gov\/health-topics\/arrhythmia#:~:text=An%20arrhythmia%20is%20a%20problem,the%20condition%20is%20called%20bradycardia.\">arrhythmia<\/a> and even OCD for that matter! However, what condition is causing you to experience racing thoughts and discomfort can be best examined by a medical practionar. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I decided to seek help from my doctor and spoke to her about my symptoms and she concluded that these racing thoughts and some patterns of rapid heartbeat, related to anxiety. To further identify this condition, she asked me about the following details<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>&nbsp;Sleep Pattern<\/li><li>Adequate Sleep.<\/li><li>Frequency of these thoughts<\/li><li>Any specific pattern of thoughts<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once, I had answered these questions for her, we narrowed down the results to draw a conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My racing thoughts had no particular pattern, except that, they were at an all time high when I tried to take a nap. She also checked for any changes I had made to my diet as sometimes certain foods increase or decrease your anxiety or make you feel more lethargic. I did confess to her that the lockdown has made me neglect my intake of food on certain days and the habit of being an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/emotional-eating\">emotional eater<\/a> was on the rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1473122430480-d00e6dd25ba8?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&amp;ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&amp;w=1000&amp;q=80\" alt=\"woman praying under tree during daytime\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few things I have being trying for a week now and they have definitely seemed to help me tackle my condition. The racing thoughts have not disappeared but they are lesser than before. I find it easier to divert my attention to something more constructive and less worrisome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center\">Acceptance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Initially when the frequency of my racing thoughts increased, I began panicking on the sudden change in my moods and health. Eventually, I realized that the situation was not withing my control and worrying over what was happening was simple aggravating it. Hence, I accepted that these thoughts are coming to me and I had to simple tackle them. Some of these thoughts were not even relevant or needed no action, hence I began filtering them. It is a slow process but I am getting there. Also just like Sameera Reddy said in her recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/\">Instagram<\/a> video, we will get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-instagram wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tv\/CC7u4zQnGfA\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:640px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tv\/CC7u4zQnGfA\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center\">Communication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I decided that keeping my condition to myself is not going to help because it wasn\u2019t helping. So I began speaking about it to my friends and family. The spouse\u2019s ears have probably turned sore by now but we aren\u2019t complaining. I also began writing down my thoughts to understand their pattern and get more clarity. Writing began giving me solace and helped me when I was at the battlefield with stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center\">Meditation and Exercise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/236x\/5e\/0c\/c9\/5e0cc9ee9b89568a0995c2c6755c0447.jpg\" alt=\" \"\/><figcaption>https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/236x\/5e\/0c\/c9\/5e0cc9ee9b89568a0995c2c6755c0447.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I have often read and also been told that one must pick an exercise pattern that suits them. Hence, without being overwhelmed by the HIIT routines that others were following, I decided to practice meditation, breathing exercises and yoga which has helped me to a great extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center\">Drawing and Doodling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I have always loved to scribble, draw and doodle. I have started relying heavily on <a href=\"https:\/\/in.pinterest.com\/\">Pinterest<\/a> to help me doodle. All these Zentangle, mandala and random doodles have helped me calm my forever twitching nerves. Also listening to some music while I am doing so helps too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center\">Medication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1584017911766-d451b3d0e843?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&amp;ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&amp;w=1000&amp;q=80\" alt=\"white and orange medication pill\" width=\"347\" height=\"231\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I wonder, why I didn\u2019t put this point first? May be, you can blame it on my not so structured thoughts process. \ud83d\ude0a \ud83d\ude0a Activities like cooking, painting, dancing or writing can help you calm your nerves however it also needs medical attention. Racing thoughts could be related to other conditions too, hence it\u2019s imperative to take medication as advised by your doctor. In my case, I was just given a simple non-addictive anti-anxiety pill. Also, I was asked to regulate my sleep pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/2020\/01\/07\/this-is-how-social-media-is-causing-you-more-harm-than-you-know\/\">ill effects of too much social media<\/a> and screen-time has to be re-iterated again to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You diet, sleep cycle, any previous health condition could affect it too. Racing thoughts can even every individual differently and the underlying reasons could differ too. It is best to speak about it and seek help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1524901548305-08eeddc35080?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&amp;ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&amp;w=1000&amp;q=80\" alt=\"and breathe neon sign on tre\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anxiety is not new to any of us. Overthinking, night-time anxiety and racing thoughts, all seem to be permanent accompaniments in our lives now. The lock-down has indeed add fuel to fire in the case of stress and anxiety. Just the other day, I was talking to a friend, who literally is, \u2018saath samundar par\u201d! [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[27,55],"tags":[147,33,8,53],"yst_prominent_words":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"27":{"name":"Health","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/category\/health\/"},"55":{"name":"Lifestyle","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/category\/lifestyle\/"}},"tags_names":{"147":{"name":"emotional health","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/tag\/emotional-health\/"},"33":{"name":"mental health","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/tag\/mental-health\/"},"8":{"name":"thoughts","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/tag\/thoughts\/"},"53":{"name":"tips","link":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/tag\/tips\/"}},"comments_number":"4","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3404"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decodinglives.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}