Social Anxiety Support

TheUnwelcome · 07-14-2009, 05:49 PM

Ok, this might sound like a weird question but I want to ask you folks how do you actually think?

When you think something do you hear words in your head? Like say, an affirmation that you want to repeat to yourself.

Do you force that affirmation into your head by saying the words in your mind or is there a different process?

I ask this because I did some drugs a few years ago in my life and I had this panic episode where I was scared that I lost total control of my brain.

Like for example, when I read a book I hear the words that I am reading in my mind. When I read it is as if my mind is talking to me. It doesnt just subconciously go to my brain anymore. I kinda forgot how it is to read really after all these bouts with hypochondria I've had.

I have kind of forgotten what the automatic thought process is really like.

I really would appreciate any feedback. I hate to ask friends and other people on the street for the fear that they might say I am nuts, schizophrenic or just plain weird. I've also been told that my negative thoughts and insecurities stem from my ego. And I kinda want to differentiate between the two. Mainly because most of my thoughts are negative so I can't really tell if its the ego or just me thinking negative conciously. It may also be that I just can't stop overanalyzing my thoughts and for some reason I can't allow myself to just think without analyzing it.

socially inept · 07-15-2009, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheUnwelcome

Ok, this might sound like a weird question but I want to ask you folks how do you actually think?

When you think something do you hear words in your head? Like say, an affirmation that you want to repeat to yourself.

Do you force that affirmation into your head by saying the words in your mind or is there a different process?

I ask this because I did some drugs a few years ago in my life and I had this panic episode where I was scared that I lost total control of my brain.

Like for example, when I read a book I hear the words that I am reading in my mind. When I read it is as if my mind is talking to me. It doesnt just subconciously go to my brain anymore. I kinda forgot how it is to read really after all these bouts with hypochondria I've had.

I have kind of forgotten what the automatic thought process is really like.

I really would appreciate any feedback. I hate to ask friends and other people on the street for the fear that they might say I am nuts, schizophrenic or just plain weird. I've also been told that my negative thoughts and insecurities stem from my ego. And I kinda want to differentiate between the two. Mainly because most of my thoughts are negative so I can't really tell if its the ego or just me thinking negative conciously. It may also be that I just can't stop overanalyzing my thoughts and for some reason I can't allow myself to just think without analyzing it.

everyone is different . thinking involves different representational systems:

kinesthetic - feeling
auditory - sounds
visual - pictures

and people vary between them. if you had 3 people with the exact same fear of rejection , then that fear might berun differently in each of there minds .

person 1 may have some sort of picture and just know that this means ''everyone is gonna reject me''.

person 2 may have this sort of sense or feeling and know that it means ''everyone is gonna reject me ''

person 3 may actually hear the voicce in his had say the words 'everyone s gonna reject me

the way you think in your mind is dependant on which representational systme you naturally and automatical use the most

i dont know if this answers your questions cos to be honest i found it difficult to actual;ly understand what your question was so feel free to ask me again if i have not understood you properly

shychick2 · 07-15-2009, 05:52 AM

From personal experience, I'm not entirely sure! It's like I sense it rather than consciously being aware, it feels a bit distant. I think images and sounds but it's not clear and I can lose what I feel if I try and concentrate too hard.

This reminds me of reading some books by Paul McKenna on hypnotherapy. You imagine things like seeing events on a stage, work out where your internal voice is, e.g. where in your head, what type of voice is it (yours, tone of voice). It makes me think that it can vary and be controlled to some degree. Maybe visualisation exercises from a book would help? Or being aware of physical sensations in the body when you are quiet and relaxed e.g. where do you feel tense, what shape, what colour, what texture. Even yoga where you do breathing exercises and think about how you are using your body.

07-14-2009, 05:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
TheUnwelcome Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: North Carolina Gender: Male Age: 27 Posts: 87	The Process of Thinking Ok, this might sound like a weird question but I want to ask you folks how do you actually think? When you think something do you hear words in your head? Like say, an affirmation that you want to repeat to yourself. Do you force that affirmation into your head by saying the words in your mind or is there a different process? I ask this because I did some drugs a few years ago in my life and I had this panic episode where I was scared that I lost total control of my brain. Like for example, when I read a book I hear the words that I am reading in my mind. When I read it is as if my mind is talking to me. It doesnt just subconciously go to my brain anymore. I kinda forgot how it is to read really after all these bouts with hypochondria I've had. I have kind of forgotten what the automatic thought process is really like. I really would appreciate any feedback. I hate to ask friends and other people on the street for the fear that they might say I am nuts, schizophrenic or just plain weird. I've also been told that my negative thoughts and insecurities stem from my ego. And I kinda want to differentiate between the two. Mainly because most of my thoughts are negative so I can't really tell if its the ego or just me thinking negative conciously. It may also be that I just can't stop overanalyzing my thoughts and for some reason I can't allow myself to just think without analyzing it.

07-15-2009, 05:52 AM	#3 (permalink)
shychick2 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: UK Gender: Female Age: 28 Posts: 274	From personal experience, I'm not entirely sure! It's like I sense it rather than consciously being aware, it feels a bit distant. I think images and sounds but it's not clear and I can lose what I feel if I try and concentrate too hard. This reminds me of reading some books by Paul McKenna on hypnotherapy. You imagine things like seeing events on a stage, work out where your internal voice is, e.g. where in your head, what type of voice is it (yours, tone of voice). It makes me think that it can vary and be controlled to some degree. Maybe visualisation exercises from a book would help? Or being aware of physical sensations in the body when you are quiet and relaxed e.g. where do you feel tense, what shape, what colour, what texture. Even yoga where you do breathing exercises and think about how you are using your body.