Do you ever experience racing thoughts: the feeling that your brain is sprinting like Usain Bolt through all sorts of scenarios? Been there, done that…way too often! Racing thoughts are an onslaught of fast-moving, repetitive thoughts that may be confined to one topic or a number of unrelated scenarios.
Racing thoughts feel like they take over your mind, rendering you incapable of giving attention to anything else. It’s as if there’s no shut-off valve for your thoughts. Even when they abate for a while, racing thoughts will surface again, especially at night when you’re desperate for sleep. You ruminate to the point that your sleep becomes compromised and your brain doesn’t get a chance to chill out.
What causes racing thoughts?
A number of behavioral and mental health conditions can trigger racing thoughts. They include anxiety and depression, bipolar and/or panic disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland). But racing thoughts can also be the result of intense stress, lack of sleep, and certain medications.
How do I reduce racing thoughts?
Here are some simple strategies to get your racing thoughts under control.
Switch up your diet
As in most wellness issues, your diet plays a prominent role in reducing mental overwhelm.
For example, high-glycemic foods, such as potatoes, white bread, and processed foods, tend to spike blood sugar and cause it to crash just as quickly. It is believed that high-glycemic foods worsen mental health conditions and that they influence the anxiety and depression we experience, which can lead to racing thoughts. However, increasing your intake of low-glycemic foods causes your blood sugar to level out and may be a boon to your mental health. Try adding more lean meats, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and certain whole grains to your diet.
Another strategy is to include more alkaline and high-antioxidant foods, which combat cellular damage to the body and mind. According to an article published in Current Neuropharmacology, oxidative damage may play a role in depression and anxiety, which, again, can trigger racing thoughts. Consider increasing the quantity of berries, nuts, citrus, and apples that you consume.
A third racing thought hack is to boost your magnesium intake. Most of us are woefully deficient in this powerhouse mineral, which is a natural relaxant. Great food sources of magnesium include spinach, quinoa, almonds, tofu, and black beans, but you can also use magnesium supplements like Natural Calm, and transdermal magnesium, such as Ancient Minerals.
Breathe deeply
When you practice deeper, slower breathing, your nervous system is calmed and the panicky thoughts that make your heart accelerate are soothed. The good thing is that you can practice deep breathing at any time, anywhere. Try Dr. Weil’s 4-7-8 method, or simply breathing in slowly for a count of four and out slowly for a count of eight. Combined with meditation, breathing deeply will help your mind focus on something other than the racing thoughts, and diffusing lavender essential oil while you deep breathe will help calm you and restore a more balanced thought pattern. A study published in the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand found that inhaling lavender essential oil can calm the mind and quiet brain activity.
Exercise regularly
Working out is a great way to reduce stress and ensure that you get well-needed physical activity. Whether it’s dance, yoga, Pilates, or simply taking a walk, mindful movement has been known to reduce stress, boost your mood, increase productivity, strengthen your attention span, and settle your mind. And who doesn’t need that? I know that I can see a distinct difference in my mood and mental state when I don’t exercise regularly. A study in Behavior Therapy backs that observation up by demonstrating that exercise improves symptoms of depression.
Avoid overstimulation
Whether we’re watching TV, reading articles on our smartphone, surfing the internet, or just chatting with people, we are constantly stimulated, and that can increase our stress level. Try reducing your interaction with the technology that feeds this stimulation, especially when you are feeling stressed, and seek out activities that don’t involve screen time.
Pursuing hobbies that are technology free, such as reading a hard copy of a book or engaging in some form of art or craft, is very beneficial in calming racing thoughts. Coloring books are very popular for adults nowadays and are considered a great way to reduce stress while being creative. Painting, gardening, and playing an instrument also qualify as stress reducers.
In addition, if you’re more prone to racing thoughts right before bedtime, switch up your nighttime routine to ensure relaxation and restful sleep. End your screen time two hours before you want to fall asleep (I’m still working on this one!). Meditation, again, or very gentle yoga or stretching exercises, are helpful, as is taking a bath with Epsom salts or Bentonite clay.
Readjust your thinking
I remember having racing thoughts regarding worst-case scenarios at my former job that never, ever, materialized. I’d remain stuck in a “what if” mode that sucked my sleep from me… all for something that was never going to happen. Alternately, I’d be stuck on a past event that I had no power to change.
The key here is to constantly remind yourself that the past and future are not yours to control. All you have is the ability to re-direct your thoughts to the present moment. Byron Katie’s Four Questions are very useful here.
Along with mindfulness, we can use Scripture and positive affirmations to counter the worst-case scenarios playing in our minds. “This, too, shall pass.” “God has not given me a spirit of fear.” “I will lie down and sleep in peace.” “This is not as major as I’m imagining it to be.” Focus on one simple thought that negates the power of the racing thought.
Do you struggle with racing thoughts? How do you conquer them?
Thank you for sharing this timely post, Alison. I have racing thoughts constantly and have not been dealing with them in the best ways lately. Thanks to your tips, I can put a few new things in motion. Someone suggested I take Magnesium supplements recently, so I will def be giving that a try among other things.
Thanks again! This is very helpful.
Hey Dre! I’m glad this post is beneficial. I know how challenging it is to bring our minds under control when the thoughts we experience feel like a runaway train! Small, consistent, incremental steps are what make the difference. Hang in there! The magnesium is a game-changer.
Those are all so powerful. Readjusting your thinking perhaps the most so, although we somehow cling to our patterns and unhealthy habits!
Exercise is important for me, as well as the 4-7-8 method with some good old essential oil.
The readjusting of the thinking is the hardest for me, too, Tamera! Old habits of negative thinking are hard to unravel, but it can be done. And this week I have been less than stellar in staying on top of my exercise routine, and I’m paying a price for it mentally. It’s all connected!
I love reading books for many reasons, but one is that it quiets my thoughts. I focus on the story instead of my own stuff, and I’m always more relaxed because of it. Fortunately my thoughts race at a manageable speed, so I’m usually able to keep them reined in.
You know, you’re right, Dana. When I read, my mind does seem to be less frenetic because I’m focused on the story and have put other thoughts aside.