Feeling Stuck on a Loop - The 'Broken Record' Feeling
It was tough for me to find out what this was. I spent some time on Google to see if it existed, but it’s so hard to describe. That’s the problem with anything related to mental health—it’s hard to describe how it is affecting you. All I know is that I was feeling anxious, frustrated, stressed and easily set off.
I like to call it ‘feeling like a broken record’. It’s when you are stuck on one thing and can’t really move past it. I had a problem with my social media channels and I’ve been trying to fix them. Even though I had contacted support and had to wait, I felt stressed. Why couldn’t I solve this?
I kept picking up my phone to see if there was any changes (even though I knew it wasn’t possible) or scrolling through social media because I couldn’t actually figure out what I was thinking.
Have you ever felt this way? It sucks.
I’ve dealt with many anxiety-related problems, but this was the first time I was dealing with something where I knew what exactly was causing it. Still, I felt powerless and unable to do what I wanted.
So, I thought of some things you can try to get out of this funk:
Meditation
It’s hard to get a little time to yourself, so meditation helps you focus on your mind and what’s bugging you. Even 5-10 minutes is great!Freewriting
This is my favourite technique to clear my mind. You allow yourself 10 minutes (or more) to write whatever comes to your mind. Grammar, sentence structure—none of that matters. All that matters is getting the ideas out.Creating
Sometimes, creating is a great way to get your mind off of what’s bugging you. By focusing your energy on creating something (and when I say create, it could even be writing a film idea just for fun or cooking a variation of your favourite recipe), your mind can get a kind of kick start and get back to its regular rhythm.Disconnecting
This is important. A lot of the time, we get in a loop and it gets worse with technology. With so much choice, we get confused and it’s hard to not get lost in thought. Turning off your TV, phone, computer and putting all your work away is important. Rest and focus on yourself.
It can really throw you off your rhythm when you’re feeling like a broken record. Sometimes you have to take the needle off the record and let it rest. The same goes with you: take a break, focus on yourself and keep going until you feel like yourself again.