My brain does not shut off

[Molly Allen]

Hello all, this is my first time posting, so please bear with me. 

 I have been experiencing issues with MD since I can remember (i am now almost 21 years old) and some of my earliest memories are of very vivid, involved and immersive daydreams that were always debilitating in some form. Recently however I have started to research MD more and look through different online support platforms. I am happy to have found this one. 

I believe that my own apt to daydream is related to not being able to "shut off" my brain, coupled with the fact that i am someone who tends to think in highly visual ways.  Does anyone else feel as if their own MD is related to having a very "active" or "relentless" mind as well as having highly visual thoughts?

[Santhi]

What kind of dreams u have, it's damn difficult to shut off . Every one feels the same. I suggest u to analyse your thoughts and compare them with your real life in that particular aspects. When some one is not able to accept their real life problems , they try to pamper them selves with these dreams.mist of the times it is related to your self respect. When it gets hurt in real life, you try to find peace with day dreams, some times obsession for some things which u can't afford in real life, u wil try to get them in dreams. Just analyse why u r involved, then u can concentrate to contr it.

[Valeria Franco]

Yes, definetly! I feel exactly the same way. My brain doesn't stop a single moment. And not only for daydreaming. I have plenty of ideas, projects, things I'd like to do and I start doing and not always finish...

[Molly Allen]

Thanks for replying, I know what you mean!  I often have lots of ideas, get to the brainstorming process and then move on without actually getting anything done.

[Santhi]

You are 21, u r so lucky to discover it at the age of 21, in my case I was able to understand the condition as abnormal at the age of 30 and was able to discover it as mdd at 36, by this time i was divorced and left the job. Simply it just destroyed my life. I advise to get out of it completely to not to regret later. Wishing u all the best.

[MGee]

I feel the same way! My brain never stops and I get bored SOOO quickly. The only time I have found that daydreaming subsides for me is if I am actively creating something. My current job consists of a lot of monotonous tasks, so I am constantly daydreaming while working. I've been trying so hard to stop daydreaming lately and I've discovered that I have to be doing 2-3 things at a time in order to keep my mind busy enough to not do it. Have you ever tried listening to podcasts while you are working, doing school work, etc.? It's honestly helped me a lot with keeping my brain more occupied.

[Alex]

I am 21 myself and I can definitely relate, because my daydreaming is less an activity and just the setting my brain defaults to nowadays when I am not concentrating on anything. The moment something doesn't command my attention, I am gone. But I was just diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD a year or two ago and finally after many misdiagnoses I think they got it right. Not saying that's your problem just sharing what mine is. I was previously misdiagnosed with bipolar so they would write off my brain not shutting off as mania and insomnia.

I also associate this with gifted intelligence. Because I was always really smart but had trouble with procrastination and homework, I never had the grades for advanced courses but I would have done a lot better in them. I was and still am in college way ahead of the other students so I'm always incredibly bored. It's easy for a daydream problem to start and continue when I found I could daydream the entire class period and still pass the tests.

When I have the overactive brain problem too badly, I do one of the activities I've found that at least slow down/focus my brain. Things like showering, exercise, meditation, etc. It doesn't shut my brain off but it helps me to only think about one thing at a time instead of waterfalls of things. That or I self-medicate which I obviously can't recommend.

[dark thoughts]

It' s like watching a movie with yourself in it on a continuous loop. I've done this ever since I can remember, and I'm 50! I think the key to not letting it get debilitating is the ability to daydream while doing other things. I have found that zoloft helps some, it makes it easier to control the daydream and put it on pause when need be, without completely making it go away. I'm weird- I'd miss my "other life" if it went away completely.