How do you deal with nervous energy?

[zoebartlett]

I may be using the wrong terminology because I don't actually feel nervous, but my mind races ALL THE TIME. It drives me crazy. For example, I got up today at 5 AM (which is pretty usual unless I'm going to the gym before work. Then I get up at 4:30). I got to work before 7:00 and I worked until 4:30, then drove to an appointment that lasted over an hour. I got home almost an hour ago and I still feel on-the-go. I'm doing laundry, I did dishes, I did some straightening, and I can't get my mind to shut off. Even as I'm typing this, I can't seem to keep up with the thoughts running around my head about this post. Does that make sense? Even if I'm relaxing on the couch watching a movie, my mind wanders. Do you ever experience this? How do you deal with it?

 

[PositivelyPeanut]

Bathtub.

 

[Missy]

I work out or take a long walk or bike ride. Those help me. Also immersing myself in something I love- a good book, a good movie. Calling a close friend and sharing my thoughts. I don't meditate but that helps my dh deal with stress so maybe something that could help you too...

Good luck- I hope you find something that helps you!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks PositivelyPeanut and Missy. If I was a bath person, I'd try that. I do work out but I know I could (and should) do more. I love to read but I haven't read a book in a while because I can't seem to focus on it for very long. Maybe I'll try reading short stories or something. My husband laughs at me when he gets home from work because I talk AT him for, oh, a good 10 minutes or so without stopping. I think he relishes the moment I go to bed because then he doesn't have to deal with my yammering.

 

[Missy]

Zoe, I totally relate to this feeling. I also have lots of energy (nervous and otherwise) and I swear I have ADD because I too have trouble focusing lots of times. I really think it is due to all the constant stimulation we deal with constantly. It has desensitized us to just doing one thing and being totally absorbed in that one thing.

I rarely ever do *just* one thing at a time- it's like a sickness. I cannot *just* watch tv; I cannot *just* be on the phone; I cannot *just* be online etc. I was "normal" before I became internet capable and now it is just the need to always be doing many things. The only activities that "calm" me are working out and all the other stuff I posted previously. I let my mind wander as I'm working out to work through any worries that are currently on my mind.

I like your idea of short stories if you have trouble concentrating long enough for a novel. Another possibility is a thrilling mystery that you just cannot put down or any great book that you just must finish because you are dying to know how it ends...

I would love to try meditation but I just don't think I could...perhaps it would work for you though. Also, many people find yoga centering. Maybe that has potential for you? Volunteering is also something that could take that energy and put it to good use if you have a cause you are passionate about.

 

[zoebartlett]

ADD, yeah, that thought has crossed my mind too. I don't think I actually have it but I may talk to my doctor about it during my next physical. I fill out behavior rating scales all the time for my students and it would be very interesting to fill one out on myself. I like to multi-task -- watch something and browse the Internet at the same time, for example. It's hard to pick just one thing to do, and it drives my husband nuts. I think you're right that we're being over-stimulated. It doesn't help that I often fall asleep with the TV on in the bedroom. I feel like I always need something on in the background, and that probably doesn't help the situation.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Zoe I think meditation would be my recommendation! Perhaps something in the mindfulness realm, which teaches you to focus on the here and now and not get aheadof yourself.

I think what you describe is pretty common, relates to anxiety and neuroticism as a personality trait. I don't think there is anything wrong with being that way... unless it bothers you! Since it seems like it may, then looking for solutions is a good step for sure.

I like to have my mind active most of the time, but am good at veging physically.

 

[ksinger]

I suggest reading "The Power of Now". Slowly. So you can digest it, because it can't be rushed through and have it give you much.

I loaned out my copy and it never came back. I think I need to get a new one and read it again, even though I've read it several times in the past. Excellent book. Helps direct you in how to turn off the mind, how to stop indentifying with it, to stop thinking you ARE it.

I'm better at this stuff than I used to be I think, just because I'm older now. But I particularly like #3 in this list lifted from his book...

1. "WATCHING THE THINKER" - START LISTENING TO THE VOICE IN YOUR HEAD as
often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old audiotapes that have
been playing in your head perhaps for many years.

2. FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION INTO THE NOW - you can also create a gap in the mind stream simply
by directing the focus of your attention into the Now. Just become intensely conscious of the present
moment. There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: And that is
the degree of peace that you feel within.

3. LOOK AT YOUR EMOTIONS: THE BODY'S REACTION TO YOUR MIND - The more you are
identified with your thinking, your likes and dislikes, judgments and interpretations, which is to say the less
present you are as the watching consciousness, the stronger the emotional energy charge will be, whether
you are aware of it or not.

4. WATCH OUT FOR ANY KIND OF DEFENSIVENESS within yourself. What are you defending? An
illusory identity, an image in your mind, a fictitious entity. By making this pattern conscious, by witnessing
it, you un-identify from it. In the light of your consciousness, the unconscious pattern will then quickly
dissolve.

5. END THE DELUSION OF TIME + LETTING GO OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME
End the delusion of time. Time and mind are inseparable. Remove time from the mind and it stops - unless
you choose to use it. To be identified with your mind is to be trapped in time: The compulsion to live almost
exclusively through memory and anticipation. Step out of the time dimension as much as possible in
everyday life. If you find it hard to enter the Now directly, start by observing the habitual tendency of your
mind to want to escape from the Now. Notice also how often your attention is in the past or future.

6. CONNECTING WITH THE INNER BODY
Direct your attention into the body. Feel it from within. Is it alive? Is there life in your hands, arms, legs, and
feet - in your abdomen, your chest? Can you feel the subtle energy field that pervades the entire body and
gives vibrant life to every organ and every cell? Can you feel it simultaneously in all parts of the body as a
single field of energy? Keep focusing on the feeling of your inner body for a few moments. Do not start to
think about it. Feel it.
When your consciousness is directed outward, mind and world arise. When it is directed inward, it realizes
its own Source and returns home into the Unmanifested. As you go about your life, don't give 100 percent of
your attention to the external world and to your mind. Keep some within.

 

[jewelerman]

i keep my mind from racing i avoid sugar and caffeine, especially at night time.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Yes. I have had this state of being since I was very young. What has helped me is to keep my life as simple as possible,have a basic routine with small changes daily for variety, and I talk to my dogs. Not like people conversation. It's hard to describe. I know that the people in my life don't always want to hear me talking so the dogs are a good outlet for what is in my head...now I really sound crazy!

 

[JewelFreak]

Yoga. Nothing helps me deal w/tension & wired-up-ness better. The stretching poses feel like heaven; more intense movements get rid of some energy. Trying...ahem...and trying...and trying to keep the mind blank results in moments of relaxation in the noggin. Then bed and a good book. I call it the Great Escape.

 

[LittleRiver]

Zoe, I feel that way when I am anxious about something (which is most of the time!). I find that screen time -- laptop or TV -- makes it worse. I like to take a hot shower, prop myself up in bed with lots of pillows and page through a magazine with lots of pictures or read a genre novel. I can read romance even when I'm too distracted to follow a "real" book and find it very transporting. Try Susan Mallery for this.

 

[Octavia]

Have you thought about taking up a hobby like knitting? I love it because it's like a productive way to fidget -- perfect for those times when you don't really want to be moving around, but still need to be doing something.

 

[Imdanny]

Ativan is what I take for anxiety. It both eliminates nervous energy and insomnia. It doesn't have any side effects except , I can't spell this, drowsiness. Of course this is not medical advice. But you might want too discuss this with one.

 

[centralsquare]

Yoga. Nothing helps me deal w/tension & wired-up-ness better. The stretching poses feel like heaven; more intense movements get rid of some energy. Trying...ahem...and trying...and trying to keep the mind blank results in moments of relaxation in the noggin. Then bed and a good book. I call it the Great Escape.

+1. The benefits of yoga are plenty, but handling anxiety is the primary reason I do it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am fairly certain you would have displayed signs of ADD as a child if you truly have it. It is not something that just happens. Sounds more like anxiety to me. Therapy could be helpful because it does help to talk things out with a trained professional in my experience. They can also give you strategies to turn your mind "off." Journaling helps also. Just sit down and start writing. Write about your feelings, thoughts, what happened right before you started feeling anxious.

 

[zoebartlett]

Jewelerman -- Those are two things I already do as of the last month or so. Thanks for suggesting it!

Ksinger -- thank you very much for the book suggestion. I like the excerpt you posted and I'll have to check that book out.

SB -- Oh, I talk to my cats all the time! They're great listeners!

JewelFreak and Centralsquare -- My dad actually teaches yoga so I'll talk to him about it. I've never been to a class but maybe I'll check it out. I bet I'd get a good deal on the cost of his class.

LittleRiver -- thanks for the suggestion! I'll check Susan Mallery books out.

Octavia -- you, know, I've tried knitting but I didn't have the patience for it. You're right, it is a productive way to fidget, and I guess I didn't think of it that way before. I'll keep it in mind. Great suggestion!

Danny -- Ativan. Check. I'm already familiar with it.

Tacori -- I don't really think I have ADD. I just notice some similarities between that and some of things I do, but I don't think that's what it truly is. Anxiety is much more likely the case. Thank you for the great suggestions!