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I can go through periods of my life when I’m so in my head. I’m just playing out all of these scenarios—thinking of all the ways things may go wrong, how I’ll fail, who might be lying to me, what outside factors are conspiring to get in the way of my success no matter how hard I work, how annoying certain elements of my life are, and how sad and unchangeable certain relationships seem to be. It’s almost like I’m just sitting in a little movie theater, in my brain, that’s playing the most depressing and upsetting films. I’m oblivious to the world around me. I lose touch with reality and fail to distinguish between what I am afraid may happen and what is actually happening.
Do you ever get like this? Are you, perhaps, always like this? A lot of people are. To worry and fixate can be a part of the human condition. Unlike animals, we don’t have to fight for shelter, food, and safety each day, so our brains are pretty free to wander. Sometimes they wander somewhere great—towards our dreams and aspirations! And sometimes they wander somewhere dark. Consciousness is a blessing and a curse. It can enhance our experience of things, putting us even more in touch with what’s happening and allowing us to pick up on beautiful nuances. It can also create experiences that are fake, or put an unpleasant lens over everything we see.
The human mind can feel like a prison sometimes. If that’s true for you, don’t fret. It’s totally normal. And, it’s within your control—to an extent. Just make sure to be forgiving of yourself if you sometimes have thoughts of which you aren’t proud. Everybody does. But also know that you can change the trajectory of your thoughts, and that can be important so you don’t slip into a depression. Here are ideas that will get you out of your head.
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Some people live with a chronic illness
Perhaps you aren’t happy with the way things go, when you do them. You aren’t happy with the results of your efforts, in several arenas. Dating. Career. Body building. But remember that some people live with a chronic illness and don’t even get to make the efforts that you get to make.
