Wandering Minds
Who else deals with wandering thoughts? I deal with it and feel like things are going on inside me I don't understand emotions are so strong.
31-35, F
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Wandering mind is natural, in the sense of innate and necessary.
It's a sign that the brain is ticking over like an engine idling.
At the same time, there will be a constant flow of sense perceptions, so that if any one of them becomes dominant it will attract the mind's attention and become the primary focus.
A feeling will arise in response to the sensation:- pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
The brain will then be triggered into thoughts, interpretations, and resulting emotions.
For instance, a pleasant fragrance or aroma might slimulate appetite for food, sexual desire or associations with some past pleasant experience. This will in turn stimulate thoughts about the aroma and perhaps about how to acquire what the body or mind needs or desires.
Strong emotions arise from dwelling on specific kinds of thoughts, such that they grow themselves.
Yes, they can come up from the unconscious - and in fact usually do. Some small thing, like a friend's slightly negative remark, might trigger a whole cascade of self-doubt, quickly spiralling into self-loathing. This is because the mild remark unconsciously reminds us of the endless criticism from a parent, or someone whose love we needed but didn't recieve. It's a trauma reaction. When this happens, it's time to think about how this feeling reminds us of some event in our childhood - and then write about it. Take time to observe how you were powerless to deal with the situation then, but now you are an adult you have the power to learn how to love yourself unconditionally and in healthy ways, the way an ideal mother would nurture her baby, toddler, kid or teen.
Or, strong emotions can be a message that something really needs to be dealt with urgently.
A strong jolt of fear might mean slam the foot on the breaks NOW!
Strong anger might be a sign that it's time to set boundaries, or perhaps move away from the stimulus.
Strong grief may be a sign that it's time to deeply allow the waves of loss to arise and pass away, to honour the love that was lost, and to learn from that time.
Positive emotions tell us that something we're doing is going right - like the feeling of satisfaction after exercise or spending a day in nature and fresh air.
Or, at least, the positives are usually good guides: not so with addictions.
Sometimes wandering mind is a negative if it's sucking us into anxiety, rage or depression. When that's the case, we need to use any tactic that works to distract ourselves away from those precipices and mires.
It's a sign that the brain is ticking over like an engine idling.
At the same time, there will be a constant flow of sense perceptions, so that if any one of them becomes dominant it will attract the mind's attention and become the primary focus.
A feeling will arise in response to the sensation:- pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
The brain will then be triggered into thoughts, interpretations, and resulting emotions.
For instance, a pleasant fragrance or aroma might slimulate appetite for food, sexual desire or associations with some past pleasant experience. This will in turn stimulate thoughts about the aroma and perhaps about how to acquire what the body or mind needs or desires.
Strong emotions arise from dwelling on specific kinds of thoughts, such that they grow themselves.
Yes, they can come up from the unconscious - and in fact usually do. Some small thing, like a friend's slightly negative remark, might trigger a whole cascade of self-doubt, quickly spiralling into self-loathing. This is because the mild remark unconsciously reminds us of the endless criticism from a parent, or someone whose love we needed but didn't recieve. It's a trauma reaction. When this happens, it's time to think about how this feeling reminds us of some event in our childhood - and then write about it. Take time to observe how you were powerless to deal with the situation then, but now you are an adult you have the power to learn how to love yourself unconditionally and in healthy ways, the way an ideal mother would nurture her baby, toddler, kid or teen.
Or, strong emotions can be a message that something really needs to be dealt with urgently.
A strong jolt of fear might mean slam the foot on the breaks NOW!
Strong anger might be a sign that it's time to set boundaries, or perhaps move away from the stimulus.
Strong grief may be a sign that it's time to deeply allow the waves of loss to arise and pass away, to honour the love that was lost, and to learn from that time.
Positive emotions tell us that something we're doing is going right - like the feeling of satisfaction after exercise or spending a day in nature and fresh air.
Or, at least, the positives are usually good guides: not so with addictions.
Sometimes wandering mind is a negative if it's sucking us into anxiety, rage or depression. When that's the case, we need to use any tactic that works to distract ourselves away from those precipices and mires.
Lisafriend27 · 31-35, F
Yes and thank you for sharing that with me. 😊