“You are not your thoughts; you are aware of your thoughts. You are not your emotions; you feel emotions. You are not your body; you look at it in the mirror and experience this world through its eyes and ears. You are the conscious being who is aware that you are aware of all these inner and outer things.” Michael A. Singer
Join me today as I reach into my toolbox and navigate calming these racing thoughts swirling in my head. You know those days. The ones where you just can’t turn off your mind. With thoughts circling around in your head on a loop. You wanna scream at yourself, “Would you just shut the f**k up, I’m sick of listening to your sh*t!” Yeah….well…..that’s my day today!
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Exercise For Calming Racing Thoughts
Initially, I took my butt out for a jog. Exercise is an absolutely fantastic way to release stuck emotions and energy! Read my post about it here for more suggestions. This alone is beneficial for our mental health in so many ways. Something I notice with racing thoughts is, for me, they carry a certain energy. This energy contributes to anxiety, and I feel it in my body as well as my mind. It likes to move and be doing something. By exercising, the energy discharges from my body. Thus, relaxing my mind.
Along this jog of mine, which honestly I should call a walk/jog as I don’t jog the entire way ;), I take some moments to sit. Fortunately for me, there are a variety of perfect sitting rocks on this trail! While sitting, I practice focusing on my breath, gently nudging my mind back to observing my in-breaths and out-breaths, every time it wanders. This may sound simple, but it is a powerful little meditation- it assists with re-directing energy from your mind and thoughts into the body and the present moment.
Stepping Into Gratitude
Next up, during a walking portion of my walk/jog, I list off five things I am grateful for. Gratitude is an easy way to raise your vibration. Read about other ways to raise your vibration here. In addition, it also takes your focus off your looping thoughts. Frankly, this is something I don’t do as often as I intend to. However, when I do, it seriously feels good! The energy of gratitude is palpable.
What I am grateful for today include; having the time and space today to deal with my racing thoughts, my loving and supportive boyfriend who always has my back, being surrounded by a stunning forest, the yummy food I ate and will eat today, and finally, moving to the area we live in now.
Calming The Nervous System
After finishing the exercise portion, my focus now turns to triggering the parasympathetic nervous system. Also known as the body’s ‘rest and digest’ function. Skullcap is a go-to nervine herb that I utilize on such days as these. Read more about nervine herbs here. Nervine herbs, in a nutshell, do just as the name suggests, calm your nerves. In fact, Skullcap is an herb recommended for calming racing thoughts. In my case, it definitely helps!
With this in mind, I continue my day in a ‘go-slow, observer’ mode by practicing presence, aka mindfulness. There’s this part of my shadow/ego that thrives on rushing me through my day. When my thoughts are racing, it’s out in full force. I gently move my awareness back into the present moment throughout the day. Generally, I work to practice this throughout my days anyways, but today, I put extra emphasis on it. Whether it be when I wash dishes, fold laundry or sweep my floors, I’m doin’ a little nudgy-nudge to bring myself back to what is happening NOW. Our egos love to take us out of the present and worry about the future or ruminate about the past. Consequently, missing life occurring right in front of us.
Expression And Compassion
“…and it’s compassion towards ourselves. It’s a compassion towards that inner innocence. That we really truly are children. No matter how old we are, we are such a beautiful child that is learning and doing the very best they can to get through this life that can be quite confusing. ” -Maren Muter
Self-expression and self-compassion, in some ways, can be looked at as two sides of the same coin. Allowing yourself the safe space to authentically express yourself is an act of self-compassion in my eyes. I have come to love expressing myself in a variety of ways. Especially having spent much of my life struggling to express myself and without a voice due to mental health struggles.
Today that self-expression takes the form of writing. Every time I write a post, it feels as though another little part of me finds a voice, it’s healing. Oftentimes, I journal and let flow out whatever wants to flow. Putting it on paper gets it out of my head. My ‘journal’ today was this post!
Watch What You Put In Your Mouth
It is said that food can either be medicine or poison, so choose wisely. Nowadays, this notion is understood more and more. There are numerous of studies and information out there confirming this. “People are now realizing there is not only a psychological connection but a biochemical and physical connection between what we eat, the way it makes us feel, and our mental health,” states Registered Dietitian Kelly Matheson.
With this information in my noggin’, I limit my intake of processed, sugary foods. On the other hand, I put generous amounts of seeds and nuts on my breakfast, eat my vegetables and drink lots of clean water! Making healthier food choices certainly helps in calming racing thoughts!
In Conclusion
Ultimately, when I can take days like this and give myself the care and compassion I need, I am so much better for it. I am building up my reservoirs of self-love. To me, this is part of true adulting; understanding and meeting your needs, being your own ‘parent’. Knowing when to give yourself extra attention.
Although, I understand not everyone has this time and many people are busy with their families and life. When you are having these kinds of days, perhaps take a little time for yourself in the evening to look after you. Even thirty minutes can be beneficial, anything you can spare really! Communicate with your loved ones and partner and let them know you need a little support. Whatever it may look like, do your best to squeeze in some self-parenting when possible 😉
What are some things you do to help calm your racing thoughts? If you had a day to devote to your mental health, what would you do? Let me know in the comments below!
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Sources:
https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/the-emerging-link-between-food-and-mental-health
I hate when I have racing thoughts. During the day exercise helps, these tips will help at bed time.
This is such a wonderful post. We all need some calming thoughts sometimes. I personally love to walk/jog too.
Wow! This post provided valuable insights and practical strategies for managing racing thoughts, and I’m grateful for the reminder to prioritize my mental well-being.
I am so agree with you! We are not our thoughts! We need to learn to control them!
Man, this is me all day long. Sometimes it feels like I can never calm myself down, my mind races all day and night. I never heard of Skullcap herb before, I think I’m going to look into that, and exercise is a good way to help settle your body down.
Having a self day is really important making sure that you are taking care of yourself specially mental health is what we all need.
This is a really great article to read. We need to give ourselves an extra attention Selfcare is really important
These are good tips for calming racing thoughts. Breathing exercises work really well for me in times like these as well!
I make sure to have my ME time. It’s important for anyone’s well-being, I believe.
I needed to hear this message. I get stuck on being single and lonely on so many occasions. It’s hard being a single mom. I hope one day that I can find my person. But right now I have to live in the moment of being single.
I have been a ball of anxiety lately and not been as good at utilizing my tools as I should. Thank you for the valuable reminder.
This was an excellent post that I really enjoyed reading. Thanks for sharing
This is very helpful to me. I enjoyed this post!
sounds like a much-needed opportunity to find inner peace and mindfulness. It’s a chance to slow down, reflect, and regain mental clarity, allowing for a more serene and balanced state of mind
What inspired you to adopt a ‘go-slow, observer’ mindset for your day?
I have experienced how presence, mindfulness, has greatly helped me in the past with anxiety and racing thoughts. For when you are the observer, you are not the ‘reactor’. When you can just observe your thoughts, rather than identifying with them, they don’t have as much power over you. Then you can see them for what they are, just thoughts, and they are not you!