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mb1984
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11 Jun 2011, 12:12 pm

Does anyone else have trouble relaxing?

My brain analyzes, and over-analyzes constantly. It's like I have completed an event in every possible outcome, before it's even occurred...and then I'm overwhelmed and can't do anything at all.

I can't relax into anything because my mind is too high-strung to enjoy anything. I have been on an SSRI for about eight months, and I am thinking it might have been contributing. I am on my second day without it and so far so good.


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TenPencePiece
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11 Jun 2011, 12:22 pm

My mind is always going and always thinking about something or other, even when trying to sleep, which sometimes makes it difficult to get to sleep at night. I must analyse, and analyse again, and whilst this can drain me somewhat it doesn't become overwhelming often.


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11 Jun 2011, 12:59 pm

mb1984 wrote:
Does anyone else have trouble relaxing?

My brain analyzes, and over-analyzes constantly. It's like I have completed an event in every possible outcome, before it's even occurred...and then I'm overwhelmed and can't do anything at all.

I can't relax into anything because my mind is too high-strung to enjoy anything. I have been on an SSRI for about eight months, and I am thinking it might have been contributing. I am on my second day without it and so far so good.


Yes I have that issue as well, and when I was on anti-depressants that seemed to get worse.



Dae
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11 Jun 2011, 6:52 pm

Hi. I'm noticing the ages of the first 3 posters...If it goes for you like it did for me, you'll find your mind will start slowing down a little bit in the mid-thirties. The experience I had in my late teens and through my twenties...there were times I also couldn't sleep at night - even if very tired! I was definitely relieved when the mental chasing round and round started easing off some. I'm not sure it's just with age, though. Finding some habits or routines that slow that process (whether mental-relevant or more along physical lines - such as using calming herbs) could definitely have supplemented my now-successful techniques for 'stopping' the mind (a practice found in many versions of Buddhism). One good habit I would definitely emphasize IS getting crucial rest - the more tired one is, the less chance one has of controlling 'looping' of a racing mind. Don't be above taking naps! :)


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11 Jun 2011, 7:05 pm

I've got the "racing thoughts" problem so common among people with AS and ADD, but it's physical as well. I'm always fidgeting, and when I hear people talk about feeling uncomfortable in their own skin, I know exactly what they're talking about. My body and my mind both seem resistant to the idea of peace and relaxation, even though I crave them. I don't get much sleep, and I'm jerked out of what little sleep I get very easily.



ScottyN
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11 Jun 2011, 7:24 pm

A very good point. My mind races alot. I find it hard to relax, and I am always thinking about what I will do next. The only thing that helps, I find, is melatonin. This relaxes my mind and body effectively and, as a bonus, it is relatively safe.



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11 Jun 2011, 8:36 pm

I have this too. My mind just needs to be stimulated, constantly. As soon as I wake up the thoughts start and then get more erratic. Then throughout the day they start up again, especially at night when I'm trying to watch TV and I'm just thinking of everything else and I don't even hear the TV.


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12 Jun 2011, 1:19 am

I don't really have trouble relaxing. like many others here my mind races wide open most of the time. but if I make I conscious effort I can stop it and enter a relaxed, chilled out state.


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SirLogiC
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12 Jun 2011, 3:43 am

Dae wrote:
Hi. I'm noticing the ages of the first 3 posters...If it goes for you like it did for me, you'll find your mind will start slowing down a little bit in the mid-thirties. The experience I had in my late teens and through my twenties...there were times I also couldn't sleep at night - even if very tired! I was definitely relieved when the mental chasing round and round started easing off some. I'm not sure it's just with age, though. Finding some habits or routines that slow that process (whether mental-relevant or more along physical lines - such as using calming herbs) could definitely have supplemented my now-successful techniques for 'stopping' the mind (a practice found in many versions of Buddhism). One good habit I would definitely emphasize IS getting crucial rest - the more tired one is, the less chance one has of controlling 'looping' of a racing mind. Don't be above taking naps! :)


I hope it calms down a bit :/

I can't nap though, just getting normal sleep is hard enough.



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12 Jun 2011, 5:41 am

I can relax at home, but I can't in public. I am just so anxious that somebody's going to bring a 1 to 4-year-old near me and it will start shouting or screaming - which is something I cannot relax with. I love getting the bus, but people keep bringing their brats on, and I just can't relax any more. The parent takes it out of it's pushchair, sits it on his/her lap for about 10 minutes, then when he/she puts it back in it's pushchair, it starts screaming and crying, because 8 out of 10 toddlers seem to really hate being in their pushchairs and so have to throw a horrible tantrum in front of everybody, making me agitated.

So I only relax where people aren't going to put their brats near me. Sorry if I sound horrible - it's not nothing personal. I just don't like small kids in general.


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12 Jun 2011, 6:10 am

mb1984 wrote:
I have been on an SSRI for about eight months, and I am thinking it might have been contributing. I am on my second day without it and so far so good.


I believe that it is recommended that you tail off use of those types of drugs gradually.

Yes, I do find it hard to relax sometimes. I have meditation strategies. A good diet, quality sleep and exercise help a lot. If I really can't relax, I use a hypnosis tape. Sometimes art, writing or music can bring some relief.


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Dae
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12 Jun 2011, 4:34 pm

Moog, I think that reference to the hypnosis tape was a great suggestion and it reminded me that, some years ago (this was before I even knew I had Asperger's), I had pretty good success with several musical CD's (with few-to-no-words/lyrics) that I used ONLY for times of having difficulty calming/slowing my mind. I didn't listen to those CD's at any other time. Purposefully designating certain songs or activities for times of calming one's self (and sticking with those decisions) really helps in establishing/maintaining a routine-ness crucial to an Aspie mind. Making - and keeping - that type of commitment to yourself is beneficial in itself...possibly even more beneficial than the completion of the actual decided-upon calming activity. Once one changes the focus to keeping commitments for one's self, it hardly matters if it's a certain song being played over and over, using a soothing-color sleep light, or having completed a certain number of crossword puzzles AND it often won't matter if the decided-upon activity is changed at some point (whether by you or by external factors). Just following through on a promise to one's self can give untold amounts of stability.
...I just reviewed a few of the previous posts again, and wanted to add that success (possibly something one would need to clearly define/articulate - even if just to one's self) may also be dependent on CUTTING OUT (or, at least, decreasing) certain activities. For example, I very rarely watch television. I watch movies somewhat frequently, but only after having learned as much as possible about what I'm about to view. I also limit much of my movie-watching to dvd's so I may review a certain portion if I hadn't first understood or was bothered somehow by it. Mainstream programming can cause immediate and/or long-term agitation from which I have to fight to recover (a lot of that programming is unannounced and 'foreign-to-me' NT behavior and speech patterning, after all...often counterproductive to my perceptions). Some movies and many shows are just not worth the distress they cause. Slowing the mind surely must include pro-actively 'censoring' what it's exposed to.... ? Not real sure if this idea could/should be dismissed as being a 'discriminatory' application/choice-making.


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