Living in my head

[Lightshines]

Please can anyone give me some tips about getting out of my own head?!
I'll try and explain it succinctly.
Suffered from depression for many years, well-controlled with Citalopram.
Fairly anxious person. Despite not being a numptie (!), worry constantly about pretty much everything. Regretful about choices I have made, wasted opportunities.
But. My mind is constantly whizzing and buzzing with things I could do, changes I could make, achievements within my grasp.
In my head I can earn more money, lose weight, write a book, take better photos etc etc.
Can anyone suggest what might help me! Thanks, wise MNers.
But in real life I feel paralysed. I waste so much time, I'm indecisive, procrastinate and dither.
I could be so much more but can't translate what is buzzing in my brain into something tangible, into action.
I'm driving myself crazy.

I live in my head too, but I like it there, it feels safe

How about setting yourself small, achievable goals? Your list is pretty overwhelming - all big things - so why don't you pick one thing and decide you'll do that.

You could try writing things down. Make a plan for each day and follow your plan not your busy mind.
Relaxation techniques to focus your attention on just one thing, such as the sensation of your breath as you breathe in and out? Useful if you have trouble going to sleep. google mindfulness.
Exercise.
Doing something practical that you have to concentrate on..gardening, cooking, try to think about what you are doing as you do it rather than let your mind whizz away.
Good luck.

Do you have time to think?
I do think that a lot of people do not give themselves this oppurtunity, or are unable to.
I may be a good idea to go for gentle or not so gentle walks. Fresh air and thinking time, and exercise. A great combination.

Or it is possible that you have too much time to think. That is actually just as bad, if not worse.

I was exactly the same and it had caused me a problem all my life, then I discovered I could play audio books on my phone and it's brilliant!

All those 'dead' times where before I was left with my own very distressing and intrusive thoughts, in the bath/doing the housework/going outside/going to sleep, I look forward to them now because I'm not plagued by what you've described. Librivox is good although some of the readers can be fucking hilarious a little dodgy.

But what you're thinking is only half the problem. If it's the feeling that time's slipping by and you should be constantly 'improving' yourself, could you just take one small thing from the stuff you've thought of and have a look at how you'd go about doing it? Do you do photography for a hobby/living? (just wondering why taking better pictures is important to you.)

That sounds pretty normal to me OP. Unless I'm abnormal too.

Generalised anxiety or worrying is closely linked to feeling depressed. CBT is really good for learning practical ways to manage different types of worries. It can help you to relax, problem solve, avoid less, curtail worrying, learn ways to overcome worries via imagination. This in turn helps ppl feel more in control of how and when they worry, which lifts mood and helps with depression. It's exhausting being an over thinker, and once you learn to manage it through CBT you feel more able to do more. Hope that helps. Maybe go see the GP or look for local IAPT service to access cbt for free.

how long have you been taking citalopram?
do you think its effect has changed?

Im the same! Especially if im doing something boring like housework! I start obsessing about scenarios that havent even happened! Would like to take a break from myself sometimes! My problem is that I think that by worrying about a certain situation im protecting myself from it happening as the things I worry about hardly ever come true! If I do something absorbing I stop thinking about what I was worrying about!