# having trouble thinking



## SilentLyric (Aug 20, 2012)

anyone else feel like this? lately my mind just struggles to come up with a thought at all, trivial or important. It's like my brain shut off on me.


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## floraandfornicate (Jul 25, 2012)

Only when stoned, if anything I think too much.


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## JoeyJoeJoeJrShabadoo (Sep 19, 2012)

Do you mean when your by yourself or with others? I often go blank while talking to others.


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## SilentLyric (Aug 20, 2012)

JoeyJoeJoeJrShabadoo said:


> Do you mean when your by yourself or with others? I often go blank while talking to others.


no it doesn't have to do with being alone or with others. I just can't even think anymore.


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## Lonelygirl1986 (Sep 4, 2012)

I believe this happened to me, it is to do with over thinking, it was horrible I was convinced I had had a nervous breakdown, I'm still not sure what it was.


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## restinfish (Sep 8, 2012)

sometimes i feel as if all my creative thoughts are being blocked by my obsessive ones, is this what you mean?


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## whattothink (Jun 2, 2005)

I've had a great deal of difficulty with this. It was as though my thoughts just 'shut off', and I couldn't really think about anything at all (aside from the fact that I couldn't think). This was preceded by a great deal of anxiety and depression. I think it's more of a defense mechanism of the brain; it becomes overloaded with thoughts and stress for so long that it forcefully decreases activity and therefore overall thought. Give it time, you'll feel like your old self eventually. 

How long has this been happening? Are you on any medications?


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## JoeyJoeJoeJrShabadoo (Sep 19, 2012)

SilentLuke said:


> no it doesn't have to do with being alone or with others. I just can't even think anymore.


Probably depressed. I'm kind of the same way. No energy. Can't concentrate. Man does it suck. Wish I had a answer for you.


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## TobeyJuarez (May 16, 2012)

SilentLuke said:


> no it doesn't have to do with being alone or with others. I just can't even think anymore.


I think i know what your talking about... Is it like you feel nothing but emotion at its rawest but you cant really organize it (or anything for that matter)? Its like just a cloud of white noise but you dont really hear it, rather you feel it? Thats the only way i can really describe they way i felt if the same thing that happened to me is happening to you. What i did was just start writing... my thoughts were really scrambled at first but as i kept writing they became clearer and i kinda rooted out why this was happening to me... if this sounds like whats happening to you just try write it out and tell us how it goes... hope this helped


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## restinfish (Sep 8, 2012)

the thing that's been helping me get rid of this "black cloud" mental state is practicing free association with my therapist mhmm


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

I get that all the time; I struggle to form coherent thoughts, and when I do, I just repeat them over and over again because it's too difficult to form more of them.

The only thing that helps is taking lots of stimulants, but too much of those gives me the opposite problem of getting stuck on one train of thought and forgetting about everything else until I've been stuck on it for so long that it has become so complex that I've forgotten what I was originally thinking about.


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## SilentLyric (Aug 20, 2012)

restinfish said:


> sometimes i feel as if all my creative thoughts are being blocked by my obsessive ones, is this what you mean?


no, just any thought at all.


whattothink said:


> I've had a great deal of difficulty with this. It was as though my thoughts just 'shut off', and I couldn't really think about anything at all (aside from the fact that I couldn't think). This was preceded by a great deal of anxiety and depression. I think it's more of a defense mechanism of the brain; it becomes overloaded with thoughts and stress for so long that it forcefully decreases activity and therefore overall thought. Give it time, you'll feel like your old self eventually.
> 
> How long has this been happening? Are you on any medications?


I'm not on any medication. you describe it perfectly! Are you saying when you gave it time you just ignored it/didn't think about not thinking? Is there anything else you did differently? I really want to be able to think again. It's been like a couple months I'd say. If I bring it up to my mom she just thinks I'm crazy. Some help she is. :mum


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## Sierpinski (Jun 17, 2012)

SilentLuke said:


> anyone else feel like this? lately my mind just struggles to come up with a thought at all, trivial or important. It's like my brain shut off on me.


I used to have this problem periodically and didn't know what the hell was happening. I saw a few psychiatrists who made up various BS hypotheses on the assumption that I was either psychotic or dissociative. (This was not when I was 18 but much later, for those who've been following my rants.) Turns out I had Meniere's disease. Vertigo can take different forms. Doesn't always involve spinning. It can involve a strange mental haziness. Of course, I have no idea what might be bothering you.

This relates to what I was experiencing, but you might be suffering from something completely different: http://www.menieresinfo.com/symptoms.html#brain-fog


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## whattothink (Jun 2, 2005)

SilentLuke said:


> no, just any thought at all.
> 
> I'm not on any medication. you describe it perfectly! Are you saying when you gave it time you just ignored it/didn't think about not thinking? Is there anything else you did differently? I really want to be able to think again. It's been like a couple months I'd say. If I bring it up to my mom she just thinks I'm crazy. Some help she is. :mum


Mine continually got worse to the point of non-functioning. Had no desire to do anything, think about anything (socializing, future goals, what I was going to do that day, you name it). I was convinced it was the beginning of schizophrenia (avolition, depression, thought disorder, overall decline in functioning) and that was pretty much the only thing I would think about all day long. I was 100% sure that I would continually become worse to the point that I would be psychotic.

In retrospect, it was all depression and anxiety. But I felt like I was falling apart mentally. I got better with medication, and more importantly, forcing myself to get out of the house to do things; go to the store, park, go to work or school. If you sit around and do nothing, your brain will have no new information to process and it will ruminate on itself. In a depressed or anxious person, these ruminations will most certainly be negative and further the depressed cycle. If you stimulate yourself with new and meaningful activities you'll find yourself thinking less and less about your old negative thoughts. Talk to your doctor about possibly trying an anti-depressant.


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## the alley cat (May 17, 2012)

I'm like that too sometimes. If it's because you're hyperactive or anxious, try doing whatever makes you calm and lets your mind wander freely: like watching a movie, listening to music, playing games, etc... Then try to get out and have some fresh air. I don't necessarily mean outside of the house, but anywhere where you haven't been to a lot, preferably someplace new, so you can soak in the new environment and let your mind wander some more. Usually it's because our minds are tight and narrow and we need to expand it so we can think more clearly.


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