Does it ever feel like you can't stop thinking?

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That's why as a kid I couldn't sleep until exhaustion knocked me out.

My boyfriend says I tend to be like this. I get stuck on one thought and have a hard time letting go. I think my obsessions work the same way. I just think and think and think. It can be really damaging if its a negative thought loop, as I tend to be emotionally sensitive.

I asked this question at the last asperger's meetup I attended and the therapist said everyone has this. I tried to explain further that the thoughts never end, are not within my control, and there's often music playing and "videos" start playing when I close my eyes. She brushed it off but a diagnosed aspie in the group said this is more common in autistic people.

This subject comes up over and over in AS forums so I think there is something to it. I think NTs experience this but not to the degree or the sometimes never ending basis that AS people do.

As far as getting to sleep goes, I've learned to let the uncontrollable thoughts take their own direction and I fall asleep. The trick for me is to cease purposeful thinking that is under my control. I can't stop music from playing but I can switch the song if the current one is particularly annoying.

A couple years a go I had a night when I went to bed and there was nothing going on in my head except for my own consciously controllable thoughts. It was unbelievably peaceful to have a short time to be able to think of nothing.

I never stop thinking, but I see it as a blessing because I can come up with a lot of ideas for my books. I used to come up with silly ideas for inventions, but I never wrote them down so I've forgotten about them. I actually think one of these inventions I thought up was invented by someone else a year later. That happens a lot.
I used to find it hard to sleep, but I tell myself a story and eventually I fall asleep.

Having an incessant voice in your head with a constant stream of thoughts is probably the most common affliction that exists, as most of the planet suffers from it. People don't really consider it "bad" because it happens with almost everyone, but it is still dysfunctional. Some people encourage turning the thoughts positive with conscious effort, which I guess is good, but the real key to inner peace is silencing that inner voice. Everyone can do it, no matter how many excuses they come up with. It takes a long time and a lot of meditation and conscious re-directing of attention, but it CAN be done, and those first few times you succeed in shutting your mind up for a few minutes are glorious and wonderful. Check out the book "The Power of Now," by Tolle Eckhart, for a guide on how to make your mind stop its never-ending chatter.

I don't know if I ever really stop. I get my best ideas in my sleep, I'll wake up in the middle of the night with an awesome solution to a problem at work, and have to jot notes down so I don't forget, then I can usually get back to sleep. Otherwise, I'll obsess over trying to not forget it and never get back to sleep. I also have extremely vivid dreams, so I know my brain is active.

.....can
ANYONE stop thinking?

I'm serious, can people really do that?

(And if you did, wouldn't it be hard to start again?)

I have the same quality. A lot of people I know can spend hours not thinking. About anything. I try to imagine that, and the closest I get is thinking about how much I'm not thinking, which doesn't exactly count. Even though my thinking can annoy me sometimes, though, the idea of not thinking about anything, the idea of me just being blank, terrifies me enough to be glad for my hyperactive brain.

I know that my mind isn't going to stop thinking, so why not put that motor to good use? I try to read as much as I can, or try to focus in into artistic endeavors.

It would be nice to shut it off every once in a while, but hey, I'd rather use it if I can't use it.

I can stop the verbal part of my thinking at will. The deeper thinking continues, however.

Not so much lately, but there have been times my mind is going a mile a minute and I can't sleep because I can't turn it off. I've learned some supplements have a natural calming effect on the mind/nerves, and that helps.

i can never get to sleep for at least 20-30 mins at night because i can;t turn my brain off.

My thinking is, it has to do with conscious versus subconscious thinking. My theory is, it's not that some people stop thinking at times. It's that they aren't thinking consciously. Their conscious mind is vegged out, but stuff is still going on subconsciously.

I read something suggesting that those with austism (and I think it would apply to Asperger's as well) tend to be conscious of more than that most people are. We don't filter as much from our conscious notice as some do. I think that relates.

Concious of things that don't matter! Yet our concious/unconcious mind is completely blind to all that social junk that causes us oh so much fun.

Likely this partially relates to sensory issues (which was the category I scored under the bar on, but am slowly realizing relates to a lot of my issues). Regular people seem to automatically tune out certain noises (humming, squeaking). The benefit I have is a high pain tolerance, I'm wired for other things apparently. These are the ones that just don't turn off, even if you are exhausted.

It occurred to me that maybe this is along the same lines as sensory issues. Everyone experiences the constant thoughts, music, etc., but for some autistic people the experience is much more intense and distracting, just like for those that perceive light, sound, touch, etc. as much more intense or even painful than a typical person. I've never heard anyone else mention this issue in any context. There has to be a reason why this topic keeps appearing on these forums. This would explain why the therapist I mentioned this to brushed it aside as nothing special, everyone experiences it. To her it was probably insignificant, no big deal. For me, there are times I'm on the verge of screaming out loud, "Shut up in there, I've had it!"