Racing brain - what to do?

[[Gi...]]

Hi everyone,

 

Does anyone have advice for calming a racing brain? For 6 months, my existence has consisted of constant thought and song loops. I can't even distract with tv as my mind just continues to race and its getting increasingly difficult to complete work tasks. I find myself compulsively vaping and reading BB all day long. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thanks so much.

[[Th...]]

Sorry you having a racing brain.  However, that is a very common symptom and you are only 1.5 months off from a 2nd CT.

 

There isn't much you can do except distract, which you said is difficult.  The other thing is to accept your situation and know that TIME is the healer. 

 

I used to act like I was observing my symptoms as if they were happening to someone else.  I was an "outsider" looking in.  It didn't make them go away, but they were easier to deal with.

 

Expect the unexpected.  Nothing makes sense during WD and recovery. 

 

Don't put a time frame on when symptoms should end or you should be healed.  You'll just get frustrated if it doesn't happen by then.  Unfortunately it is what it is and it ends when it ends.

 

If you want to know why this is happening, it has to do with your down regulated GABA and the lack of balance with Glutamate.  Both are nervous system receptors.  GABA is your body's "brake pedal" or what slows things down and makes you calm and relaxed.  Glutamate is your body's "gas pedal" or what makes you active and alert or even fight or flight.  Normally the two are in a "balancing act" so one doesn't overtake the other.  But when your GABA is temporarily taken off line by the Benzo, Glutamate rules the day and night.  That's why you might feel wired all the time, have racing thoughts and are never sleepy.  It takes some time for your body to repair the temporary damage.  No one knows how long that will be.  But your body knows exactly how to repair the damage and put your GABA and Glutamate back into balance.  However, it is a very nonlinear process...UP and DOWN, one step forward, 2 steps back for some time for most.

 

I wish I had more/better advice, but again TIME is the healer.  Symptoms fade with time. 

 

Hang in there, it slowly gets better.

[[Gi...]]

Thank you soooo much for your reply, this is very helpful information!  I really appreciate the time you took in replying, it is very comforting.

[[ea...]]

Hi everyone,

 

Does anyone have advice for calming a racing brain? For 6 months, my existence has consisted of constant thought and song loops. I can't even distract with tv as my mind just continues to race and its getting increasingly difficult to complete work tasks. I find myself compulsively vaping and reading BB all day long. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

Hi Ginger ( I love your name!)

This is a very normal wd symptom. TV scared the heck out of me back when I was in benzo wd. I turned it off and left it off for - 5 years. Yes, really, 5 years. That is how bad it scared me back then. I too had song loops. At first they were actually aural hallucinations. I heard a bunch of men singing inside my head. Over time this morphed into other song loops that were NOT aural hallucinations. This has been my longest lasting withdrawal symptom.

I really do know how you feel. I am sure you are frightened, and worry if you have actually gone insane. Your relying on vaping and being on BB is normal as hell. I smoked back when I started this long strange journey. Cigs comforted me. BB was my life boat. Well, time moved on, and amazingly I did heal. And I quit smoking over a year ago and now use NJoy e-cigs.

My best advice to you is to distract yourself in some way. Something tedious, something that will get your mind OFF your racing mind. I strung tiny little beads for months. Bead after damn bead. I got pretty good at stringing beads! LOL! I once heard from  man who unraveled a thick hemp rope for months on end. One lady did coloring books. Someone else knitted, one did crochet, and one did embroidery. Find something like that to occupy your mind.

And always keep this in mind: what you are feeling is very normal for us.

east

[[Gi...]]

East Coast, thank you so much for your wonderful reply!  The support is really appreciated.  Are you fully healed?

[[ea...]]

Yes, I consider myself fully healed. However, I also think that due to the severity and length I took benzos (severe in how high my doses were), I may have some minor "fine tuning" to do. And I WELCOME that! I always tell people NOT to compare themselves with me because of those 2 things. I AM an extreme case, and I went CT, but I did heal...that's the part one needs to understand.

 

How are you doing? What sorts of wd symptoms do you have now? Do you feel positive and hopeful? Or still really scared and lost...?

This journey your are on is a tough one, but so worth the fight.

east

[[Gi...]]

Hi east coast, I'm unfortunately in terrible shape. Cant sleep, can

Barely eat, cant focus on anything, endless thought loops, unfortunately I'm not feeling hopeful at the moment and am considering a leave of absence at work. I cant get over the fact that taking these pills plunged my life into the gutter, but I know we all feel that way. It's a lot to digest.

[Guest [pe...]]

Hi Ginger.  Are you still around?