Getting specific, recurring thoughts stuck in your head doesn’t make you crazy, it’s what our brains do.
Our brains often fall into repetitive thought patterns, especially for those with mood or anxiety issues. Redirecting your mind is key to breaking these patterns.
Try these two strategies to help end your recurring negative thoughts.
Get my book: For When Everything is Burning https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisbur…
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Hear the Podcast:
https://bit.ly/PsychologyOfDepression…
Here’s what you’ll find in this video:
00:00 Understanding the Nature of Thoughts
03:57 Mindfulness and Its Impact on Depression and Anxiety
07:57 Redirecting Attention to the Present Moment
15:20 Fantasizing About the Past and Future
18:55 Zooming Out to Stay Present
22:31 Mindfulness Questions for Memory and Well-Being
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Just met the channel and I am already very grateful for it. I have just seen the term “freeze response” on instagram. And I checked all of the boxes: excessive gaming and binge watching, struggle with focus, unhealthy eating habits, being more forgetful, endless social media scrolling, excessive fatigue, feeling numb, hypersensitive to noise, avoiding eye contact and lack of self-care. Could you talk about it?
I needed to hear this…desperately. My algorithm needs retraining. I’m an author and a while back I wrote a novel where one character was going through something that was really horrible, and I tapped into my traumatic past to write it. It was a technique that worked great, but I’ve been stuck in it since I completed it. You’ve helped me today.
The information and your explanation are great! This is now one of my favorite subscriptions!
My son died 5 weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about him, and all the different scenarios where he might still be alive. Also I'm thinking negative thoughts about myself and blaming myself for not helping him were protecting him. It's extremely hard to live like this
Dr Eilers, thank you for sharing your work here on YouTube. With the way the world looks right now, despite the unprecedented opulence of civilization, it's tough to see the light when looking at society and its inability to appreciate the good.
Thank you, I needed this, I’m going through it right now. My brain seems hardwired to just make me want to, well, stop existing as a natural effect of the amounts of sunlight in the Swedish autumn and winter. This means that Sweden is not an ideal place to live when you’ve got my kind of brain.
My problem with mindfulness is that I’ve had it pushed on me as a “cure-all” by healthcare professionals who certainly believed they’d found the magic cure for everything. As I’ve got autism and ADD alongside the depression, it’s not very easy for me to practice mindfulness. It feels like the “margins” of my “mental space” are shrinking, so it’s getting more and more narrow and things that I used to enjoy are no longer fun and the list of stuff I still enjoy is still shrinking day by day. So I get overwhelmed very easily, and run out of energy much faster. I’d like to find something that actually works in the long term, if it exists. I’ve tried every SSRI and am now on an SNRI medicine that used to work but now seems like it has no effect.
Sorry for the wall of text, things are rough. Thank you for your videos, they are more helpful than a lot of other things people have told me through the years.
Thank you for everything you do
Thanks!
Hi Dr. Scott! New sub from Brazil. I'm binge-watching your videos. They're touching my heart so much. Thank you. 🩷
redirecting your thoughts sounds like running away from your current problems. did i understand that the right way? i just want to be sure that i get that right cause english is not my mothertongue =)
More than welcome!
Sometimes I can’t bring myself back from some of the thoughts, trauma is scary- my brain brings so many of repeating. Thoughts daily. What would be the first step To taking control when these intrusive thoughts take over my days
If you've always wanted to be present in your awareness, than congratulations you have never truly suffered a day in your lucky ass existence 🎉
Exactly the video I Need to watch right now.
But am not ready too. I’m not ready to deal with the memories and emotions of loss that come.
It’s wonderful when your able to have a councillor who understands you and knows exactly how to help. It amazing when you’ve had the person for 19 yrs. I knew one day that that person would not be in the position. I knew it because one day I would not need the help as before and would have stopped with they service. I had never thought that it would end because he had passed and I didn’t know. I found out by trying to look up their new practice and finding an obituary instead.
Found you and some other docs on youtube who are amazing. The hard part is your methods and delivery are so similar and bring back all the advice and sessions.
So if there one lesson to learn do not be like me and have one person as your councillor for more then a few years. No matter how hard you try not to get close it happens, as they become the person you go to for help. Which having one person like your family doctor sounds great, it is. It also leaves a gap if something like this happens. It makes a blessing into a curse.
Blue glass.
I think this is why sitting in the sun and listening to the birds is so therapeutic for me. It helps me focus on the present. This really keeps me focused and away from negative thoughts.
Hi Dr Eilers from Northern Ireland. I've just found you. Guess what, you came up in my algorithm!
I love how you explain thought processes in your videos. This one in particular has been so helpful. This information would cost hundreds in therapy.
I'm going to share with a couple of friends who need to hear this as well.
Thank you so much for the amazing work you're doing and all the very best in your new business venture. You'll make it work and you'll be brilliant.
I started doing exercise again after I watched your videos. I was an active teenager but a physical health issue happened and I couldn't walk normally for a few months, it was during covid lockdown as well, and I didn't realize I had truly believed that I would never be able to lift weights or go running again. The negative thoughts led to some dark places and for a long time, I often beat myself up and I didn't think anything would get better.
Now I'm changing my diet, doing small exercises every morning, focusing on stretching, yoga, and maybe, I hope to go for long walks or jogging soon. I listened to your videos and your understanding and clear explanation really helped me control and change my negative thoughts. I'll practice to be more mindful. Thank you very much, Dr. Scott.
Thanks so much, I love your explanations. They’re helping me so much and I am using these tools to help my children too!
Amazing. Thanks!
No one cares. I'm so very unhappy and no one has cared for the last 15 yrs. I have no one. That's my life.
Please listen to me ! My brother took his life in 2017 and I still think of him every day. He lived with me and had many issues and struggles that I was not able to help him with. I suffered tremen guilt when he died. My own mother thought it was my fault ! Try dealing with that ! You need lots of time and self care to get over your loss. Grief is like a roller coaster, and you need to be patient and kind to yourself. I wasn't able to find a grief therapist, so I watched alot of helpful things on youtube. Please know that the pain will ease up in time. Meanwhile, be a friend to yourself. It will help your son, too. It holds them back if we keep punishing ourselves. You're not alone in this dark place. Try to get help if that's possible. I've been where you are now. I'm finally getting free because I'm still here and I need to go on. I wish you peace in your journey. It's not your fault.
I run away from the present moment because I'm not safe. If I was mindful, I'd have to deal with the reality of that. And since historically I couldn't make myself safe, I learned to escape. But this is PTSD, and I get that's not your area of expertise
Hi! I learned zooming out 15 years ago, but they called it "observing ego". I think the way you described it was really helpful and easier to understand, and I'll try to practice it more often using your technique.