strange question

Medication is one alternative but many prefer to avoid this if possible.

I had problems like this last year and found that it was helpful to listen to podcasts (of things like BBC radio 4 programmes) on my mobile phone via headphones. I could listen to something interesting and engaging whilst going shopping in tesco, travelling to work etc. This really helped break the obsessive thoughts and gave me something else to think about. Listening to music helps sometimes - I find i can listen to the same album over and over again and it displaces the negative thought spirals.

You see a lot of people listening to their mp3 players etc whilst out and about - I expect many people find this more soothing than the background chatter in their minds.

Hi dancing queen

Thanks for sharing that your husband had a similiar experience.

I hadn't realised there was medication available and I am sure it would have helped me in the past and it is good to know it is a possibility in the future.

Thanks again.

Hi Dig

I don't think it is a mental illness that I have. I think it is a coping mechanism and I think it is mental stimming. However I had not heard of any one else having this issue which is why I wanted to ask for other opinions.

I am sorry but I don't know how to help your sister but I can share my experience in the hope it may help in some way.

For me it isn't harmful for the most part and it can help me cope in places I often find difficult. Such as today I had to go to a supermarket (an environment I find too noisy and too busy) so I had my list on a loop in my mind and this gave me something to focus on. I managed to go in, get things on my list pay and get out fairly quickly.

It is only when I am stressed or overloaded that things get very unpleasant as the words or phrases become negative. Things such as "I hate myself", "stupid" or "just die" can go on this mental loop get faster and become very intense and overwhelming. I have to isolate myself in a dark room for quite a while and just ride it out. 

It isn't easy for me but I can recognise when these very bad words come in and especially when I want to hurt myself because of it. I now try and force a change in the words and replace it for simply "No" and loop this for a few minutes until I calm down a little and then change it to "I'm ok" and try and slow the repetitions down. This has taken a lot of practice and has been a huge step for me as I used to really hurt myself in the past as self hatred quickly took over.

Can you think of a way to help your sister replace her nagative loops with positive ones?

Could she have cards with her negative words on one side and positive ones she can replace themh with on the other? So she can see that when she thinks "this..." she can replace it with "this..."

Just a thought.

I hope for the best for you and your sister.

T

Hi TLC,

I am not autistic but my sister is and also has a learning disability - she has obsessive thoughts as well but does verbalise them. Unlike you she is unable to control these negative thoughts so becomes very mentally and emotionally distressed - think this is due to her learning disability. 

How often to you get these thoughts and would you consider yourself to have a mental illness or is this the autism? I'm asking you because my sister doesn't have the ability to make sense of this and we don't know how to help her..

Her thoughts at the moment are often around illness, death and dieing and are triggered from anything on TV to conversations at home etc she is very sensitive to it. she then feels sad and then feels bed for her reaction and repeats  herself, often saying sorry lots. 

So in answer to your question, I think this is mental stimming (common with autism) you are experiencing but it sounds like you have it under control. I cannot help my family to control my sister and we are at our wits end at the moment.

Any insight from you would help as you can make sense of your autism but she cannot

 thanks