To wonder if its normal to have such an overactive brain?

[Sunfyre]

I feel like I'm constantly agonising over something to an obsessive degree. For example if I have a dilemma or something on my mind, my brain HAS to go over it constantly. Researching all outcomes. Googling. Weighing up pros and cons. It's utterly exhausting and I wish I could stop it. It's worse at the moment as I'm tapering off sertraline which calmed my more anxious thoughts somewhat. But even the things I'm not necessarily anxious over just DO NOT STOP.

Is anyone else like this? How the heck do I make it stop?

it doesn’t sound like you should be tapering off setraline i. any shape or form

I have this. Dh is always saying I should take Sertraline. Following for ideas.

CBT helped me with this kind of thing. And meditation actually.

I'm like that. I have aspergers, which is what I'd attribute it to.

Although mine aren't anxious thoughts. So maybe it's different. I'm just constantly engaged in some granular deep dive or other. I have to have spoken word radio or audiobooks at night to force my thoughts to switch off.

I would talk to your GP. Perhaps you should slow down the plan to come off your medication. Especially if it was largely working well for you.

Did your overactive brain start in adulthood OP? Alongside anxiety? Or have you always had it?

Are you having GP help to taper off? I'm on Sertaline and any form of tapering would be bad for me.

If you've always been like this have you considered you may be autistic?

It’s now my autistic brain works. I find it quite normal for me. It has pros and cons.

is there a particular reason you are weaning off sertraline? It’s great if someone only needs it for a short period, like to assist with therapy or as a reset, but plenty of people take it forever.

when we tapered dd off, her doctor made it clear if she had problematic symptoms returning then we needed to call asap and likely the plan would be to go back up in dose.

i on the other hand am a lifer. I had a second pill in the mix that I was able to drop, but my sertraline is not going anywhere.

Came here to say that if you have a very busy brain, and you've always been that way, it might actually be ADHD.

Anxiety can cause rumination that can run to extremes, as can other mental health issues.

But ADHD can be like... being obsessive over one thing, busy noisy thoughts, especially if anxious, but can also just be feeling overwhelmed by life in general.

For me, I have about 6 thoughts all at once - and one of them is usually a song playing on repeat 🤣

If you find that you are always 'on the go', have a to do list that is a mile long but can't get anything done, a big procrastinator, and very forgetful... you might have ADHD.

In which case, sertraline doesn't work properly for ADHD brains because your brain needs dopamine, not the chemicals that SSRIs give you.

I’m like this. I just assumed it was normal.

I’m like this and have ADHD

Since I've had DD, who I suspect has it too, i do think I may be autistic, but I've not been diagnosed. The ADHD thing is interesting. I expect I'll now be obsessively researching this..

I've always been like this as long as I can remember. The sertraline has helped, as has propranolol but my GP didn't mention being on it forever. Perhaps i need to go back.

Thanks for the comments.

I’m like this, have been on sertraline when really bad. The song on repeat in my head resonates, is this a sign oh ADHD as I have wondered about this before. I’m 52

Lots of neurodivergent traits in your posts and whilst plenty of people have those traits and are neurotypical, so people aren’t and it suddenly answers a lot. It’s often genetic as well, so that could link in with your DD.

It's normal for me.

But I'm AuDHD.

Sertraline helped me more than Methamphetamines did to be honest. Didn't fix me...but helped me especially with social anxiety and executive function. ADHD meds made me stop masking Autism and that was horrendous.

Therapy is helping me come up with ways of resting my brain and avoiding worrying excessively. It's hard work...but improving.

Mine is like this.

I use it to obsess about useful things - learning languages, practicing instruments etc...

I can't just buy anything or make a decision without lots of analysis. Obsessively thinking what needs doing etc... my brain never shuts up.

I'm kinda used to it after 40+ years and use it to my advantage. A super power!

(But yes it's exhausting)

This is really interesting.
The more I've learned about ND traits over the last couple of years the more I've recognised in myself but your post is particularly close!
I'm sat here reading this thread, with a song stuck in my head, thinking I need to hang out the washing, keeping an eye on the time to make tea for the DC, wondering how much time I'll get to do some work tomorrow (and therefore creating a mental to do list) and wondering what shopping I need to do before holiday.

I read recently that it could be a sign of childhood trauma, ie living in an unsafe house and constantly having to scan the environment and weigh up every situation for potential threats or things that might kick off a row. Most people are comfortable living in the here and now but apparently traumatised kids take their hyper vigilance into adulthood

Yes, this is me too. Its always been there, I always thought it was anxiety but nothing really stopped it or helped. I had a period on Citalopram which calmed my anxiety during a really stressful period, but the constant in-depth thinking speed never went. Turns out to be AuDHD, and accepting that this is just how my brain works has helped me no end, I was exhausting myself with how to fix it. Also having an understanding partner who I can check in with definitely helps. I also have some hypervigilence trauma from childhood, so not a great combination all round!

It’s now my autistic brain works. I find it quite normal for me. It has pros and cons.

Definitely more pros than cons.

But I can see how it could unpleasant if you're anxious too.

I have adhd and asd and this would be me. Hyperfocus is a huge thing but it can be a good thing. If you have adhd then sertraline is not what you need to be on but you will need a diagnosis first to know this and to find something else. I foud going on adhd meds have helped me somewhat.

@Hollowvoice It's worth researching ADHD. I have both ADHD and autism, but didn't find out until adulthood.

OP, I've found only a handful of things that help 'turn off' the thoughts:

• journaling so you can dump your thoughts in one place
• doing activities that get you in a 'flow state' such as drawing, painting, reading, writing creatively, sewing, or knitting. It doesn't have to be one of those things, just an activity you enjoy that gets your brain to focus entirely on the activity. Could be dance or horse riding, whatever gets your mind into that 'flow state' feeling.
• being with people you love, doing dopamine inducing activities (for me that's stuff like ice skating, bowling, window shopping, visiting a new place, trying a new restaurant, or trying a new activity with a friend, or even travelling/holidays).