To ask if your brain ever gets quiet

[thatsalad]

As in, you literally are not thinking any thoughts?

YABU - yes
YANBU - no

Erm, people have quiet brains?

Quiet as in it’s possible not to think about anything at all?

Never. My brain has 2 loops. Always has some form of music playing. Constantly. It can be a whole song, the same line over and over and over… a jingle, anything.
Thw other loop is constant stream of thoughts. Conversation with myself. What I have to do, what I should’ve done. Comments people have said. The paint colours I need to pick. The appointments I need to sort. Past conversations with people. Shopping lists. Everything.
what I am writing, reading. Etc etc etc.
I always thought it was normal, and everyone was the same until I asked people at work one day and most of them looked at me in horror. They have silence.
I’m now awaiting my ADHD diagnosis. I have been told it’s definitely there!

I would love to switch off my brain for just 5 minutes peace.

I've not got ADHD and still I'm always thinking of something - sometimes linear thoughts, sometimes jumping from one thing to another. I don't understand the concept of a quiet brain - what's the point? Surely you'd at least think that you're not thinking of anything?

Never ever ever. I’m really really obsessed with music and lyrics, and my head is constantly playing music. Constantly. I wake up with songs in my head any time of the night.

I’m leaning towards all the ADHD stuff actually being normal and it’s the other version that is ND!!!

Yes, in meditation. Not in every meditation I do but my capacity improves the more I do it. And I am quite ‘adhd-ish’ - not diagnosed.

Constant thoughts. Found magnesium helps to quieten them down a bit for sleep which is nice. Interesting to see others say ear plugs helps! I’ll try that.

had interesting conversation with my son recently about thinking in pictures as well as hearing your thoughts - I do both but apparently some people don’t see anything?? I see whole scenes, pictures/images, even the word I’m trying to spell- helped when I was at school as could imagine my text book page with the answers on!!

How have the weight loss jabs helped with this please

@Tunnocksmallow you have just described my brain exactly! DD has ASD and ADHD and DS is waiting for an adult ADHD assessment.

I find that reading or watching something gripping on telly helps absorb me enough to give my poor brain some relief!

When I was young I used to do something called dissociative daydreaming, which I think was my way of coping. The interesting thing is my DD also does it!

I wish mine helped me! I keep hearing people say this, but it seems to have passed me by, sadly.

This is exactly what I came on to post… my DH lies in bed and I say what are you thinking about and he just says “oh the ceiling” meanwhile in the 5 minutes I’ve been here I’ve fully renovated the house, planed the next 3 months events had fake conversations with friends and family, organised entire weekends away and decided what to eat for lunch.

I had a lady try to do reki on me after a massage and I leapt off the bed in a panic as she said empty your mind. It was like she was asking me to close my tabs!!

no no no thanks… the thought of having no thoughts is terrifying what happens!

No. Never. And when I’m talking to someone or listening to something I try to translate what they are saying into another language, spell the word in my head or write it in teeline in my head as they speak.
i seldom do just one thing - watching tv I read, reading I listen to music or radio. I’ve done this since I was a child and have always slept with the radio on. Which helps me relax. I think I have ADHD (everybody I know says I do and have done for a few years).

Only when I embroider or knit. Otherwise, no.

Don’t take magnesium then.. they get even more bonkers

Exactly. To notice that your brain is quiet you would have to be thinking about it that, so not quiet at all.

Nope. Never. I have literally never experienced that. Mine is a mile a minute.

I’m also an ADHD’er, diagnosed and medicated.

Never, it can be overwhelming and exhausting at tines. I can’t meditate either I feel suffocated and my mind races when I try

I think having no thoughts at all is not achievable, but what is achievable is living in the here and the now.

So not remembering the past or planning the future but paying attention to what’s happening right at this very moment. Eg have a cup of tea slowly, tasting the tea, noticing the temperature, feeling the mug, looking at the pattern on the mug etc.

You can also think about “taking refuge” in the present moment. If you suffer from excessive ruminating on the past or being anxious about the future you can return to the present and notice that you’re (very likely) in a safe environment right now. That’s very peaceful and calming.

It’s called being alive…that you have thoughts is not abnormal. If your thoughts are causing anxiety that’s an issue in itself- but just thinking, I can’t get my head around you thinking anyone/everyone else has no consciousness?

I used to be like that. It took a lot of time for me to be able to meditate effectively and be able to control my mind wandering, but I’m glad I persevered.

Nobody’s brain gets quiet

My mind is frequently blank, I can go for days without thinking anything more profound or extraneous as ...ummm I fancy another cuppa.

Something is going on in there because I can drum up conversation easily and if someone asks me for ideas, they come forth like a fountain. I just don't seem to have much going on at any one given time. I practise meditation too but that's a little different

My best friend can't grasp the concept of silence in any aspect and became quite agitated with me when she discovered I don't really think about much at all

I imagine meditation might lead a person to that state between being awake and being asleep, which I think is a lovely, relaxing state.

Sometimes I wish my brain would just give me a break - especially if I have a song going round and round in my head. But I actually find a flow of thoughts (often past memories) helps me get to sleep - provided they are not worrying thoughts.

Mine never stops. I also cannot see pictures in my head if that makes sense. Like, if you told me to imagine a familiar face or a tree for example, I know what it looks like but, can’t see it. I know now that most people can visualise in their head.

Nope and since menopause I feel like somebody has turned the volume up and tinkered with the colour settings, in feels bonkers in there some days. Meditation does help a bit though.