To ask if your brain ever gets quiet

How on earth could you know that? Do you have the ability to read minds?

It's great that you found something that works. I enjoy a massage, but the effects for me are almost entirely physical rather than mental. In fact, I find my mind chattering on more than usual while I'm having a massage, as there's nothing else to do!

I have a few moments occasionally on holiday. When I'm on a sun lounger on a beach and just focusing on the sound of the waves. It happens for about 10 mins every other year.

"Typing this i can hear the words in my brain. Trying to go to sleep i usually focus my brain on a story/daydream or think of a picture and focus on that."

Isn't that normal?

i literally had this conversation yesterday.

I have ADHD, PTSD, OCD and severe anxiety, I’m plagued with intrusive thoughts and my mind never stops racing. I take medication but it just dulls it to a quiet chatter rather than feeling like I want to run away from my own brain.

I started getting massages because of the constant tension in my neck and shoulders, I went to one place which was expensive but I walked out genuinely feeling calmer and realised my mind had slowed down during the massage.

I tried a few more cheaper places to try to get the same affect but it didn’t work, there was background noise or the therapist seemed to want a conversation, the music was loud, I could hear the therapist huffing and puffing like it was hard for her, I was cold etc…

I went back to the first place and it was just so relaxing, now I know the staff and they know why I go it’s even easier, I said I just want to switch off and relax.
I used to start off with all sorts of thoughts like trying to hold my tummy in, worrying about if I’d fall asleep and snore, then I’d feel guilty over it.

I now pay £150 a month for 3 full body massages with a scalp massage at the end and I don’t feel guilty at spending that at all. I get one every 10-12 days and they are the highlight of my month. I’ve learnt to focus on the sensation and smell of the oil and I go home and often sleep for a few hours, I could never contemplate napping before. I get the same message therapist who used to have to put muscle gel on and use her elbow to loosen my shoulders but I don’t need that much pressure now.

I know it’s a lot of money and me and DP had to do quite a lot of financial jigging around to afford it, it seems like a total luxury but it makes all the difference to me. I can’t put a price on being able to stop the intrusive thoughts and constant worries - even for such a short space of time. The fact I also get a nap out of it and my body feels looser makes it worth it as well.

I know this won’t work for everyone, I think you have to feel comfortable and build up a rapport as well, I wasted so much money trying “cheaper places” then spent the whole time in a ball of tension wondering when it’d be over.

I went to one woman where I paid for 25 minutes but noticed taking my Apple Watch off and putting it back on that it had been less then 15, I went 3 times and she was cheap but it made me angry and it’s hard to complain.

I don’t know if this will benefit anyone but I’d be so happy if anyone struggling tries it and it helps. I know for a lot of people in a cost of living crisis it seems ridiculous but it really has made a huge difference to me.

My brain is like a 24 hour roller-coaster it never switches off.

Thanks for being kind.

Although I'm not sure it's something to envy or aspire to, it's just different. I'm sure there are times when an active mind is really useful!

I generally have a quiet brain - it just seems to be the way I’m programmed. It’s only in recent years (in my 50s) that I’ve realised how lucky I am in my ability to relax and “switch off” and that many people don’t have this.

I’ve always enjoyed activities like pilates and playing a musical instrument where you have to get out of your head and be “in the moment” with your body. Again, I’ve only recently realised that one of the reasons that I enjoy these things is because it’s easy for me to get into that zone.

My parents always said that I was super chilled out as a baby and young child which is what makes me think I’ve always been this way, rather than something I learnt. My sister has a very noisy brain, but she is creative (a published author) and had a very successful career in finance before becoming a writer. I do not possess the drive (or skills) for either of these endeavours!

My brain's usually pretty quiet.

I don't have the inner monologue that people talk about, and I don't 'think' in words when I'm working something out or planning anything.

It's more a series of concepts that emerge.

I've always been fascinated when people talk about their mind racing – my body definitely gets activated and I have emotions and physical responses to worry or panic, but my mind itself usually fairly peaceful.

My bestie and had a conversation about this.
We can both tap into a music playlist in our heads, so have never needed a device to play music and thoughts usually of what we should have done in various situations come back to us.

She said maybe this is why we are friends.

I have a busy brain, it never stops. If I'm not thinking, I'm playing music in my head. Whole albums sometimes.

I used to think this was impossible. Then I had cancer and when I was very ill/fatigued/on lots of drugs, I would often just lie in bed thinking nothing at all. I found it really disconcerting. But now that I know it's possible, I can do it occasionally at will. As long as no one else is around and I have nothing in particular to worry about, I can sit quietly and go into a sort of quiet state where I'm not asleep, but not thinking about anything - just kind of dozing.

Mine's a lot quieter now I'm older, or perhaps because I have less stress to deal with and so less to ruminate over. I can calm it down by just watching the clouds go by, the trees moving in the wind, birds flying.

Sometimes I imagine I'm a cat and am sitting observing everything, not analysing it, being in the moment. Relaxed but alert.

Isn't it amazing? I can't remember where I read it (probably on FB somewhere), but it was certainly within the last couple of months.

I think my DH's brain is like an empty room with a marble that rolls about a bit every 20 mins.

Mine is like a fairground on acid, but the rides are washing baskets and the things I said at a work do 20 years ago which I now overanalyse FOR NO REASON.

Yes, when I'm in the flow of a good run or when I'm in a remote part of the countryside usually tucked in a steep sided valley so I can't even hear the wind and its pure silence. I just sit for 10 minutes with my eyes closed bathing in the sun not thinking about anything at all. Luckily I know just the place.

If it helps, I think it sounds wonderful and I envy you hugely.

The brain never really gets 'quiet'. The moment you think 'Oh, I'm not thinking any thoughts' you are by definition thinking thoughts, because you're conscious of what you are/aren't thinking. People who meditate aren't emptying their minds - they're just focusing.

The brain keeps working even when you're asleep, which is why we dream (even if you don't remember your dreams in the morning, you do still dream).

Some people's conscious thoughts race a lot more than others, I'm sure. I've been told I'm someone who has a lot more consciously going on in my head than most people do. It's not a good thing.

I've been called a number of names and had nasty things said to me on MN but that is the most abhorrent.

I didn't deserve that. I'm not the only one whose mind is quiet, why single me out for your horrible comment

Not naturally, no. But I can quieten it consciously, either by doing something that requires concentration on a physical action, especially a repetitive one (e.g. knitting or running), or by meditation, by focusing on my breath or just by deliberately stopping my thoughts.

Only when I dance.

I suppose what I mean is that I don't have many of the sorts of thoughts that involve much analysis. My brain is constantly on the go but for 90% of the time it's kind of recounting things rather than being "thoughtful" and trying to solve climate change or considering the pros and cons of the two state solution.

My brain is never quite, the thing I find most restful is physical activity that needs complete concentration like playing badminton or zumba the more completed the better. Meditation is not for me.

Meditation helps (also it gives you the chance to lie down for half an hour in the day).

Reading keeps my internal monologue occupied which is restful.
Hence frequently picking up MN through the day because MN is calmer than my own brain chuntering on