My Mind is Going 24/7: I’m Overwhelmed

Reader’s Question

I’m a 19-year-old male and I’ve been going through the hardest times of my life. The problem is that my mind is active 24/7, and I find myself thinking of questions like “What is time?,” “What is the present?,” “What is ego?,” and “Who am I?”. I wonder things like how I can control myself. My mind is active to the point that it feels like I’m living inside my head asking myself the kinds of questions for which I couldn’t possibly come up with genuine answers.

I have been to a shrink and he said I should try to clear my head on my own, but I don’t know if I can really do it by myself. I accept the idea that every cure is inside us, but I feel overwhelmed by these constant and illogical thoughts. I would be happy to hear any helpful thoughts on the subject.

Our Clinical Psychologist’s Reply

Of course, it would be impossible to assess your situation with accuracy without much more information, but there are some aspects of the situation that you describe which suggest certain possibilities.

Most of the time, people are not only in control of their thoughts, but also have the ability to re-direct thoughts and focus their attention. There are some mental conditions that impair a person’s ability to focus. There are also some conditions that affect the degree to which a person can think in a rational, logical and/or goal-directed manner.

One type of symptom commonly reported by individuals who have mood disturbances like Bipolar Disorder is “racing thoughts.” These kinds of thoughts are more than just thinking normal thoughts rather quickly. Rather, they are thoughts that come so fast and furiously that they interfere with a person’s normal thinking ability, interfere with attempts to quiet the mind (like when trying to go to sleep), and cause the person having them considerable distress. The thoughts can go on as kind of a constant “background noise” or they can dominate the person’s conscious awareness. The thoughts can be of mundane quality or can have some unusual or expansive qualities.

Racing thoughts are also not the same as intrusive thoughts or false perceptions like “hearing voices” that can occur in some mental conditions like schizophrenia. Racing thoughts don’t necessarily have to be associated with manic, hypomanic, or mixed episode and can occur in a variety of circumstances in which a disturbance of mood is present or anxiety is at play. Racing thoughts can also be associated with the hyper-alert and accelerated states that can be brought on by the use of stimulant drugs like amphetamines.

You indicate that not only are you bothered by the kinds of thoughts you’ve been having, but also you don’t feel capable of quieting them as simply as the one mental health professional you saw suggested you might be able to do. It would be important for you to make your concerns about this known and to provide enough background that a thorough assessment can be made. It may also be a good idea to seek a second opinion.