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What is the best way to stop everything from piling up inside your mind?

36 Answers
Last Updated: 06/07/2022 at 12:52pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
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Jennifer Patterson, LMFT

Art Therapist

Life can be messy. Sometimes you need a little support to make your way through it. I love to help guide people through their challenges & to find the beauty in our messes.

Top Rated Answers
Erynn
February 1st, 2015 5:12am
I find journaling, privately blogging, and talking about my feelings helps a lot. Others might find release in poetry, fiction writing, song, music, dance, drawing... artistic expression can be very useful. Meditation, Mindfulness, grounding exercises, deep breaths and walks or jogging can also help to clear an overwhelmed mind. It takes practice, so try a few things out and write down what works, and what doesn't, and try to understand why things work (or don't work) so you better know what helps you. Often a skill can help sometimes, and not help other times. Try to find out what skills work in what situation. Through trial and error we can start to better understand our emotions and how to care for ourselves.
ahasbeamer
April 2nd, 2015 4:49pm
Start prioritizing and stop procrastinating, that way things won't pile up in your mind. Because you will take care of tasks as they come, and if you can't, you will know it was because of lack of resources and not procrastination :)
Freebirdie
July 29th, 2015 7:57pm
The best way according to me is writing it down when it starts over-flowing..If the thing that has been piling up hurts you a lot then tearing the page down would help.Sometimes crying also helps.Helping others is also a way.I have tried all those ways and they all helped in some way.Distractions like friends,music,sports or any kind of activity are helpful and provide temporary relief but the only way to stop it from coming back is facing it.I wish you all the best and hope you can handle it
Bourneville
February 1st, 2015 7:20am
Write things down. Everything going on in your head goes down on paper. If you can't control it, cross it out, and try to focus on the things you can control.
Lexi30
March 27th, 2015 7:51am
By knowing and being capable of identifying what is more important than the other. This helps you create an image of everything.
lucilledaniella
May 31st, 2015 6:48am
When situations get messy and overwhelming we got this racing of thoughts and palpitations that clouds our vision from seeing the path and make some logical decisions. Let us think of the thoughts like a wall it piles in our head if we always escape from it, we turn on distractions and keep on ignoring the things that needed our attention so it piles up into a tall huge wall. In order to turn down the wall we need to focus and relax. We have to address our issues one at a time and resolve it. It's like beating the wall in chunks. We can meditate so that we could clean our foggy windshields and see clearly our path. Mindfulness should also be practiced to avoid any unnecessary thoughts from running our head and only the thoughts that we want to think should be what our mind think about. Have a great day!
DipityEnigma
June 6th, 2015 12:43am
You can talk about your problems with someone such as a friend, counsellor or family member. I would always choose a counsellor over a friend or even a partner because everyone else can turn on you if they wanted to and use the information against you. I've had it happen to me so many times. You may want to write in a diary and if you feel unsafe doing so, you could write in a different language. I use the Viking alphabet to write in my diary. It's pretty simple and straight forward. If you type into your search engine "the Viking alphabet" and look for the image called "Runes", that's the easiest one to use. It doesn't matter if an alphabet that you choose might be inaccurate, as long as you can read it and know what it's saying, you shouldn't have any issues with writing in your diary. If you don't want to do any of the above, you could try something more simple. You could record your voice and talk out-loud about your problems on your own. The theory behind it is that you will not only say what's on your mind but you will also hear it out of your own mouth and you will realise how true everything that's on your mind is. You don't realise how real the thoughts in your mind are until you say them out-loud.
Anonymous
March 1st, 2016 2:48am
For me I read. I fill muly head with other imaginary world and go on having different adventure everytime I read. I got so lost in books I forgot what I was thinking about before.
Anonymous
June 7th, 2022 12:52pm
You can either write how you feel on a paper, that actually can help us. Writing it down can make us see it from another perspective or talking with someone about how we feel, preferably someone who has more experience on that domain. We tend to keep things to ourselves, either to protect us or those around us but in reality it is not very helpful. We just add more and more and more feelings and emotions till it is too much and then we might act very badly towards others. So writing it down or talking with someone is actually a good thing for us even if we it might seem not so helpful.
MuriSpacePenguin
June 6th, 2016 3:35am
I find meditation and mindfulness helpful in detangling our thoughts. Rather than forcing yourself to think positive thoughts or not think anything at all, just allow yourself some time each day to have a session to 'hash out your thoughts'. Taking a nap and going out for a walk sometimes help reset your frame of mind as well. When we sleep, brain waste is cleared out and we wake up with a clearer head.
Fraz
January 16th, 2017 5:37am
Share it away! Do it with your family, your friends or just random strangers. Once you start putting your thoughts into words, they become more manageable. It's like looking under the bed or opening the closet door. You start coming to term with the monsters inside.
firemedic19
March 27th, 2017 10:38pm
Find a creative outlet, or any way to healthily cope. Talk to people you trust, and our listeners here are always ready to help!
majesticCloud84
May 8th, 2017 9:03pm
I would recommend taking up a hobby that can either help you channel your emotions or help you express them and for things to do, writing lists always helps me clear my mind
empathicKoala23
November 7th, 2017 9:08pm
Write a list of important things to do that day/week/month to get them out of your head. Also setting aside half an hour each evening as your 'worry time' during this time you can write down any anxieties you have big or small. The rest of the day every time you feel a worry surfacing tell yourself 'this is not worry time' and distract yourself to stop thoughts piling up.
Deighton72
November 13th, 2017 2:09am
The best way that I have found that helps from keeping everything piled in your mind is to either talk to another person about what is going on, or if that is not an option, you can keep a journal of what is going on. Getting those things out of your head and onto paper can really help when you feel that you have too much on your mind on a given moment in time.
Anonymous
December 5th, 2017 4:40am
You could talk about whats going on to a family member or a friend, or someone here at 7Cups :). Another good way to get things off your mind is to do something you enjoy, which could be anything, like watching a movie or reading a book. :)
Anonymous
June 26th, 2018 8:33pm
You know what is best for yourself, if that be writing down your thoughts, talking to someone, etc..
Anonymous
July 17th, 2018 5:18pm
Write down what your thinking and if you have a lot of plans get a calendar so you know things that you are doing that day
AmethystUnicorn
July 23rd, 2018 12:06am
Journaling can help with that! Also mindfulness exercises. Journaling can help get all the thoughts out from inside, and you can even crumble up the paper + throw it out if they're negative feelings!
Anonymous
July 31st, 2018 10:21pm
Simply trying to collect your thoughts (journalling, using art as creative expression, blogging, etc) can help clear up thoughts a lot. Tackle things one by one, and take the days as they come.
orangecat01
October 19th, 2020 7:41pm
take some times to yourself. take a break from whatever your doing during your day to calm yourself. try meditaion its a good way to clear your mind and let somethings go. letting things pile up in yout mind can harm your mental state and make things worse. theres so many different types of meditaion but if your new to it look up some controlled meditation so you can kinda get the hand of it and learn how to do it. this a personal trick i use when i need to clear my mind. sometimes meditation doesnt work for some people maybe try to find some ways to cope with your feelings like writing,reading,and drawing can help.
LavenderBridge
January 25th, 2016 8:29am
Get a little notebook. But not just any kind. Go to a store with a big assortment and take your time to find a good one that makes you want to write in it. Same goes for a pen. Find yourself a pen that you use only with this notebook. And now start writing everything down. It doesn't matter how you do it; you can write a word across one page or a whole paragraph. Draw as well if you like. This is your paper punching bag. If you don't know where to start, just write down the first thing that comes to your mind. This isn't a diary or essay, so no need to be clean and neat about it. Once you've got it all out: If there's anything important that you've discovered while writing it down you might want to transfer that thought into a different book or simply colour/mark said thought.
Lotus48
January 11th, 2016 7:14am
Stop, drop and take a deep breath.. One must learn to organized 2-3 weekly. This gives the mind a structure of what is important.
Anonymous
January 5th, 2016 9:22pm
Talking to someone and letting it out. Talking to people like therapists, parents, someone they trust
Anonymous
January 5th, 2016 7:07am
Talk about it with someone might not be able to do anything about it but talking will help take some of the pressure off
Moonchild4u
December 28th, 2015 7:21am
I find the best way to deal with stuff piling up inside is to write them down on a piece of paper, or to talk to someone that cares to listen. Either one releases the thoughts accumulated in my mind and I always feel much better after.
fearlessPineapple2752
November 24th, 2015 5:35am
Talk it out. Pent up emotions inside will harm you in the long run.
LiberatedTeacup
October 26th, 2015 4:15pm
The best way to stop things from piling up inside would be to deal with whatever is bothering you as soon as possible. If it involves a person, talk to that person. If it involves a problem, seek out a solution or help. Dealing with problems as they arise would prevent a pile up. Always talk to someone, family or a friend, to help take the load off. Getting things off your mind or sharing the burden makes life easier.
PoliteOcean
September 7th, 2015 2:59am
This is not a one answer fits all. Everyone is different. You may need to find what works for you. Such as journaling, or meditating or even talking to a counselor or therapist could help.
softNight
August 31st, 2015 7:13pm
I like to use a tool called The Dump Truck. Once a day, or whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, I take a blank sheet of paper and I write the date and title it Dump Truck. Then I write down absolutely everything that's on my mind. All my to do's. All the things I'm worried about. Things in the future I'm thinking of. Everything. I just make an exhaustive list. I feel relieved because once I've completed it I know everything is there safe on the paper. You can put the paper in a binder or just use a daily notebook. I'd say 90% of the time I never feel the need to go back and look at it again, but it's just a comfort to know that it's there!