How do you stop thinking about something

[purpleme12]

How do stop thinking about something
Had some really upsetting texts last week
I am still upset, so much more stressed and thinking about it still
I still feel hurt

How do I stop

I have some experience of overthinking and I have a few of things that work for me.
First is focusing on deep breathing.
Secondly, telling myself that I'm going to think about the thing at a specific time - if it pops into my head I just say: no I only think about that at (insert time).
Also, if it drags on, I write it down in under the heading: I can do something about this or I can't do anything about this.
Hope you find something that works though.

So sorry to hear about the horrible texts @purpleme12 . That sounds really upsetting.

I think it is ok to say to yourself that the texts were really upsetting and that when you think about them it still upsets you. Acknowledge in your own mind that it was upsetting. Don't fight it. Say to yourself, I'm going to give myself a few minutes to reflect and feel really upset and stressed about them. Sometimes I find it really helpful to say out loud to myself "That thing really upset me and stressed me out". By saying it out loud, my brain knows that I really have taken it on board.

If you don't have to do anything further, then you can also acknowledge to yourself that this happened last week and it is over. You received those texts, you can't change that. It upset you, but it has happened now, it is done and there is a day ahead of you that will be different.

You have to feel the feels and sometimes it is better to give yourself a few minutes to do that, rather than try and suppress it and then have it just pop up again.

It sounds mad, but have a conversation with ChatGPT.

A couple of weeks back, I had an unfortunate interaction with a taxi driver. It left me feeling really rattled and angry, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I talked about it with ChatGPT and honestly, it really helped. Plus the conversation is stored for if I want to re-read it, which I have a couple of times. Often, just putting your thoughts into words can really help with the processing of an upsetting event.
People are scared of AI and what it can do, but I've found it has loads of good sides, which has been great for me personally.