How do I shut off the worries in my head and just enjoy myself?

[Els]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, guys. I've been hit with deadlines again recently, so I've compartmentalized this issue to deal with later. I can't seem to work on too many aspects of my life at once, it seems, I just get overwhelmed.

 

When the time comes (hopefully soon), I'll come back, re-read all the above, and see what I can try.

 

Appreciate all the advice.

[thatone]

Someone else posted this awhile back on this forum and I felt the need to save it.

 

male brain vs female brain

 

It's a running joke between me and my GF to this day, monkey brain vs ping pong ball brain.

 

The primary difference I think between how men think and how women think? (Most) men accept the fact that no one knows what's going to happen tomorrow, and in lieu of that rely on their ability to solve problems as they come. Women try to plan every minute detail to soothe their worrisome nature. As for little details, I make little routines so that I don't forget things.

 

To go fly I need my iPad, my watch, the keys to my plane, my sunglasses, some change for the soda machine if I'm going to an unattended airport somewhere else, and whatever else I'm going to bring. I don't want to think about this stuff, so what to do? Leave it all in a pile next to the car keys, then I can't forget it because it's all right there, no thinking required.

 

I actually think the checklist method used in airplanes could help otherwise scatterbrained people remember things. There's a hundred and one things to do, safety check wise, to fly a small airplane. To ensure you don't forget any of them, there's a checklist. Go through the checklist one by one and you don't have to worry about forgetting anything, pretty simple. Anyone else could do the same thing with day to day things they tend to forget. Make a checklist! If you do everything on it, you don't have anything to worry about. Then the only thing you have to remember is "checklist", rather than trying to remember a hundred other things that you're bound to forget one of.

Edited March 19, 2013 by thatone

[todreaminblue]

Good point about paranoia.

Most of my friends and family knows that i am the 'what if' guy, who is able to see into the future for possible bad things.

I must always have a plan, i must always overtly inspect each new device and gadged and to run it on a mental checklist to make sure that it is up to order.

I am the guy in the family who spots dents/hits on cars when they are microscopic.

I get invited to house do-overs because i am overtly critical about how things are done and i notice the bad patterns when they are worked at.

Just last yr i exasperated 3 teams of workers by pointing out errors.

 

I'm not sure that paranoia is a bad thing though.

 

 

I feel paranoia is my downfall,what keeps me in limbo because for every action there are myriads of ways to do anything,so many ways and what ifs....and i have to do it right...and when you are thinking of more than one what if and your mind is processing too much you have to drop it and start all over again with what you are thinking.......i try not to think sometimes(which can make me a kamikaze) and just jump into something......paranoia can cripple me literally stop me from moving or rationalizing.....I get stuck in the idea and not the process of actually doing it, i have to have a method to my madness, and normally its progressive...one step at a time,focus, eyes front..thats the only way i can function.....the only time paranoia does any good for me is when i adjust and skew off on my night walk routes and i listen to the hairs on the back of my neck and my heart beat........deb

[Feelin Frisky]

Hi Elswyth, I saw that you said a pro is out but what you're experiencing is not psycho-social, it's chemical. How do you out think your chemistry? It seems you have a bit of a tick of compulsion to run through upsetting scenarios, which some call obsessions. Considering you sparkling joyful personality most of time here I'd guess you're far from an extreme case. Truthfully it is very hard to out think a chemical impulse or even know how to or that it is possible, but if you absolutely can't go that route, the only answers are in treating yourself the best you can with good nutrition and exercise as well as finding a way to use the impulse that becomes compulsive and at worst obsessive as a trigger to perform routines that change your trajectory. I used to go out and even if I did my six mile walk, I start it again and sometimes make it. It tends to tucker you out and give you less energy for the obsession or neurosis. Though we are not dogs we are animals and if you watch what Cesar Milan does on the Dog Whisperer with problem animals, the answer is always making sure they are trotted around long enough so that something inside becomes more accepting and less anxious. It works for people too. I can attest. Although I didn't have to wear a dog collar and be led at pace by around a Latino dude. I'm sure you can skip that part too:p. Just try to turn it positive when the impulse comes on for fear and insecurity. Best regards,

[denise_xo]

As someone else above, I suggest mediation, as well as yoga and regular physical exercise.

[Babolat]

Classic OCD, I have it, and I have GAD. I am a counter, I count things all the time. My Dr calls it "my rituals". I will count pictures on the wall, the panes in a window, the corners of the TV, silly stuff.

 

My Dr put me on 10mg of Prozac, it helped a lot though I did not like the side effects so I wwnt off it.

 

I take Klonopin for GAD, very low does, an dit helps a lot. I do a lot of research on my own and try various suggestions, some help, some don't. Yoga and Mediatation are next on the list!