I find sometimes I'll be able to identify that I'm feeling anxious, depressed, etc., and also identify that there's not a clear root cause. And I try to soothe myself, but I find my mind hyperfixates on that feeling and I'm just in a spiral over it. Tips for pulling myself out of that?
Posts and comments here share personal experience — not medical advice. For treatment questions, talk to a clinician.
Maybe there's a reason your system wants you to be in that emotion, so you don't feel what's underneath? I was feeling in a depression spiral today and finally realized it's a defense against some ambiguity at work. What I really need to do is propose a new solution and be a leader, but that's hard and I'm scared of it. If I'm depressed and spiraling, I don't have to do that brave thing. Now that I see it was a defense mechanism, I can make a plan to do the brave thing, & I'm not spiraling anymore 😊
Same! I’ve frequently had times where I don’t know the why and end up trying to focus on understanding the why and when I can’t I get sucked back into those unpleasant feelings. Ultimately, I find distraction, connecting with people who understand those feelings (although, you’re the first one I’ve found!) and doing things that I enjoy are all helpful.
Try breaking the spiral by surprising yourself out of it. It’s called pattern interrupt, you just do something totally out of the blue and not at all what you would normally do in that situation. Maybe if you tend to shut down and lay on the couch, you jump around all crazy, or put on a song and sing at the top of your lungs, or take a cold/hot shower - just anything that breaks you out of the typical spiral.