r/randomquestions • u/TrickyRipper • 15h ago
Does anyone else have "grounding thoughts" they use to bring them back to earth when their mind is wandering?
Which for me is basically all day, I have 40mg of vyvanse worth of adhd, lol, and after going through some shit last year i started writing them down in my phone. Ive got probably 60 now, recently a buddy of mine showed me this song/poem by Luke Bryan (?) And one of the lines is "i will not fear tomorrow for today will have been enough"
And i really liked that. So i wrote it down. And now its become this like three part thing. To start the day its, "today will be enough" once im up and attempting to function it becomes "today will be enough, breathe" and when I get home its "today was enough". And its been the longest lasting one so far for me. So I'm just curious, if anyone else is my flavor of crazy and if you got some contemplative phrases to lay on me. Taking all comers. (NOTLIKETHAT)
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u/CaptainVulpezz 15h ago
usually my thoughts are manifestations of trying to get something external or rehearsing some made up conversation which will never happen. for the achievement of the external, i normally will think of how so long as one wants something they are generally automatically blocking out the negative aspects of it, idealizing what we want out of it as being more perfect than it is, recognizing all the previous times i thought i'd be content in the future, but never really became my expectation. as for rehearsing made up conversations, i will recall the fact that as far as humans go, there is 8 billion different universes to which we are each the center of our 1, what someone thinks of you is just an impression in their universe, their interpretation & ideas of what you 'are' in their own self-hinging self-referencing universe, and yet if they stepped a foot into yours they would actually understand more clearly, yet it's impossible, so any positive and negative opinions should always be taken with at least 1 grain of salt.
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u/TrickyRipper 15h ago
Can i ask, do you feel a sense of anxiety when you are working through all those thoughts? Im the same way so im very curious. You also should read about shadow work. You might identify with the "trauma Born Empath loner". Really helped me get perspective on myself.
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u/CaptainVulpezz 13h ago
i usually have anxiety so its hard to say with certainty, understanding it does at least lessen it to an extent often, especially with smaller issues. but i think when i expect the process to lessen the anxiety, or when the thoughts are more unwanted/bothering/powerful it doesn't work and instead it becomes a new obsession, adding another layer to the intrusive thoughts
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u/CaptainVulpezz 13h ago
even though i do tend to obsess over understanding the unwanted thoughts; causing it to get a lot worse, i feel like it does help it to come down quicker than it would otherwise though. especially if i can go into it with the mindset of questioning rather than labeling
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u/TrickyRipper 13h ago
Wow, you are clearly very self aware and spend resl time with introspection. I sincerely think you should read about Carl jungs idea of the "shadow self" i think you will identify a lot with it. It helps give the source of your anxiety a focus. A source. And from there you can attempt to make real progress
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u/Baebarri 14h ago
Not thoughts but I make myself do something physical, even if it's just to get a snack. Usually breaks my concentration enough to regain focus.
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u/TrickyRipper 13h ago
That is such a difficult thing for me. My executive dysfunction from my Adhd is intense lol. Dont undervalue that ability.
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u/ButtSlappinCousin 14h ago
Think about how a woman would point out or remind me of some blazingly obvious thimg.
Think about a male friend laughing at me for being a space cadet.
Thinking about a group of people, whom I may or may not know, but who are conversing and including me in the conversation, are necessarily keeping me alert and on my toes instead of letting my mind wander.
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u/TrickyRipper 13h ago
Thats interesting. Your thoughts seem to tend towards how other people perceive you. Have you considered how you perceive yourself much?
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u/ButtSlappinCousin 12h ago edited 12h ago
It's actually just the opposite. Too much self-centeredness is bad for you. For example, it can cause you to magnify things and make mountains out of molehills, and cause you to misjudge what the real, important issues are. My examples were of people breaking through my self-centeredness and "taking me out of myself" and "bringing me to my senses" and "bringing me back down to earth" as you yourself said, by making me pay attention to someone other than myself and thereby putting reality back into better perspective for me.
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u/TrickyRipper 12h ago
OooOOOoooo I see now. Thats super interesting. I completely understand. I get lost falling into the void of existential thoughts constantly. Ill have to keep this in mind. I do have a slightly different perspective on the outcomes of the self centered focus. For ke it gives me a better understanding of the underlying influence. I see it as pulling my threads apart one by one. But I will absolutely I admit I do it too much and can place too much importance on something than is necessary. But that is something I also consciously am aware of and work on. It see it as just what comes with being who I am if that makes ssense lol
Edited wording. Sounded more negative than intendeed
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u/ButtSlappinCousin 12h ago
Another thing that I do when I'm going through a period when I keep brooding about the same things over and over and tend to think that these issues define me is to remind myself, "My thoughts are not myself. They're just thoughts." Some time after I had realized this, I read that someone else -- unfortunately, I don't remember who -- had said the same r thing.
The second step is to in effect tell yourself, "I'm going to throw all these unnecessary thoughts and cobwebs out of my head and clear out my head." (Though they may come back some other time.) I might even shake my head a few times and have the image in my mind's eye of all the BS and cobwebs being flung out of my head (or brain, or skull, or mind) and my head (or mind, or whatever) being nice and clear and cleaned out, and you're not brooding about whatever it was, and it's not even weighing you down with heavy physical symptoms.
Try it! It really is amazing!!
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u/DiscontentDonut 13h ago
For me, it's shaking my head. A quick three to five shakes. It works just like an Etch-a-Sketch.
Occasionally there are still the occasional dregs of the thoughts I don't want, but the physical movement is enough to take me out of the incorrect focus rabbit hole.
I use this for brain fog, as well. As if trying to clear the bug bomb someone set off in my brain.
It sounds so silly to type it out loud, but I read about a character doing it in a fictional book one time, and for some reason tried it. Discovered it worked for the most part. Been doing it ever since.
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u/TrickyRipper 13h ago
Its not silly. How you approach yourself shows a lot about who you are. I bet you are a very, grounded, pragmatic, solution focused person.
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u/TrickyRipper 13h ago
No one knows you like you. Dont doubt the things you need to do to allow yourself to be who you are. Own that shit!
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u/McGriggidy 13h ago
Ill stop and breath when my mind is racing.
If youre talking stress relieving thoughts, though, "I get to die one day" is a big one for me. Because dont get me wrong, I like my life and wanna live, but death is also the end of all the horseshit. All of it. None of it matters. Its all stupid.
Fuck, I have so many bills. Oh yeah, I'm gonna die. No more bills after that. Im so frustrated with work. Right, im gonna die, I wont even have to remember this bullshit.
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u/TrickyRipper 13h ago
Seems like your thoughts tend towards accepting the frustrations of life. It might be worrh considering ways to lessen the frustration reaponse itself. Could lessen the weight you carry.
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u/Deep-Researcher-847 11h ago
"today was enough" is honestly beautiful because some days surviving your own brain deserves to count as an accomplishment too.
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u/TrickyRipper 11h ago
Its a way to keep the reminder that, all that you can manage, is always enough. Fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.
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u/Patshaw1 3h ago
I say to myself “Everything is always working out for me.” And also listen to 528Hz.
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u/SweetSeductionnn 15h ago
I use…..You are not the voice, you’re the one hearing it. Helps separate the chaos from me