Letting Go of Haranguing Thoughts

Picture by Dlks3.

Picture by Dlks3.

Someone found this blog recently through this search phrase. I don’t know if they’ll come back and see my response, but I thought this was a good topic for today’s post.

Here’s what I do when I have an unhelpful thought that keeps coming back:

1) Meditate. It can be a religious ritual, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. There’s something incredibly relaxing about sitting down and clearing my mind for a few minutes. (I’m still figuring out how to pay attention longer than that!)

2) Imagine. Having a vivid imagination helps, but anyone can take even the most serious worries to ridiculous conclusions. In the past I’ve come up with elaborate ways to, say, haunt a building as a disgruntled ghost who didn’t actually believe in the afterlife and is flabbergasted to find out she was wrong. It’s hard to keep up the hard work of worrying when you’re laughing!

3) Walk. Not only it is a healthy habit, it disrupts your routine and gives you something else to think about. I love silently cooing over other people’s pets and kids. Adorable.

4) Eat.  Seriously – are you 100% sure it’s not at least partially a low blood sugar problem?

5. Sleep. Ditto. I’m the grouchiest zombie ever if I get less than 7 or 8 hours of shut-eye.

6. Help. It could be as simple as having a conversation with that one neighbour who always seems lonely and a little overeager to talk to anyone who will listen. I’ve only ever found a couple of volunteer gigs that I was willing to commit to longterm, but random acts of kindness can be done anywhere and at any time.

What about you? How do you let go of persistent thoughts?

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0 Responses to Letting Go of Haranguing Thoughts

  1. Michael Mock

    I’d add “Exercise” to the list, though admittedly A) I don’t do nearly enough of that myself, and B) it’s sort of expanding on “walking”, and walking is a perfectly valid sort of exercise.

  2. daphnepurpus

    I found this to be an incredibly helpful post and just what I was needing at this particular time. I am especially eager to try #2. That sounds like it might really work for me.

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