[ENTJ] My restless mind

[Lady_X]

I think it's Ni. The only thing that quiets the noise in my head is focusing on something. When it's quiet, the thoughts take over and they go in all sorts of directions. Some positive, some negative.

My advice is to get out of your head, find something to focus on when you feel the negative thoughts creeping in. As Edahn suggested, write, read, talk to someone, do yoga, go for a run, or whatever works for you. Over time you should be able to 'turn down the volume' on the random thoughts spinning around in your head, they become a background hum instead of controlling you.

me too exactly...sometimes more so then others and i need to be constantly engaged too...and i'm usually distracted with whatever i'm doing unless there's music on or something to take my mind off of things and it takes me forever to fall asleep unless i'm about to pass out tired before i go to bed.

 

[Hendo Barbarosa]

well I don't know, I personally don't want to calm that noise until it's no longer interesting!

I'd rather just be the keeper of the floodgates, is all.

 

[ThatGirl]

I will start by apologizing in advance for my English. I am still new to the whole Ennegram test and personality types. I am trying to understand more about the functions application in real life.

I have been wondering about a certain characteristics about myself. I have always had problems with "thinking too much". My mind does not really stop. Sometimes, I am sleepless (even wake up from my sleep) and cannot stop my mind. Sometimes, these thoughts are meaningless. I have to keep my mind engaged otherwise, I will be drawn into negative thoughts. My mother (not sure about her type) has the same problem which got worst with age.

I would like to know if other ENTJ are the same and how they cope with having a restless mind.

Thanks,
Sarah

I have a tendency to do this. Most of the time, I just multi task the crap out of everything. I have actually found that I prefer the steady mental chaos to the alternative, complete focus. Youre lucky to recognize that some thoughts are meaningless probably helps a lot as opposed to making constant random connections.

I guess I've just gotten used to it, but I do sometimes worry that like you said the older you get the worse it is. Sometimes I like to imagine the thought of the world exploding and then no existence. No time or space, nothing. This will get rid of thought on the fly for me.

 

[tinkerbell]

I struggle big time with a restless mind and being able to switch it off. At time I can get as little as 1 or 2 hours sleep but still manage to function. Sometimes the only thing that switches me of is exhustion.

I just can quite picking. If truth be told I sometimes have me best ideas at this time. I use to keep a notepad and pen by my bed - ewe. I sometimes get up in the middle of the night to check emails or surf the web. I guess it's minorly more healthy than gettting up at night to graze eat - thank goodness this is one bad habit I've not got.

No cure for this that I've found - but open to suggestions.

Lis

 

[Hendo Barbarosa]

No cure for this that I've found - but open to suggestions.

What have you tried so far?

Also getting up in the night and feeling hungry, the best thing to do is eat. sleep is that 8 hour marathon that you fast during whether you like it or not, sometimes waking up in the middle of that and then like, having a pre-breakfast fast...break...is a damn good thing.

 

[tinkerbell]

Hi

Ok a few things I do that don't work....

Getting up checking e-mail, watching TV, hot milk, writting stuff down, going out for walks (but I don't do that these days). Things of this nature. I can suffer from hot or cold feet - plunging my hot feet into water rarely helps but sometimes does. Nothing much helps with cold feet until they are warm.

Somethings that sort of work - sleeping on the sofa - my bedroom can be a bit bright so I move into the living room which is warmer and bizarly enough is dimmer (I have white curtains and the moon can be very bright in my bedroom). Simply changing where you sleep can help.

Another thing that can help is to work really hard on focusing your mind on something recrational rather than what ever is the issue. Holdiays on the beach sometimes work, or just a more relaxing topic. Sounds weird but it works OK-ish but not afull solution because it's difficult to sustain.

Someone on the ENTP forum said that a balcked out room helped him rest much better - curtains so thick that you got no moonlight what so ever. Never tried this myself as it would require a refurb.

I've heard bananas can induce sleep but I found this to be rubbish. As are calming teas (again have no impact).

One other thing if you are desperate - you shouldn't use this too often. I pour 2 or 3 drops of Neroli oil onto a tissue and place it near my pillow - it does help to relax you but can leave you with a bit of a hang over the next day (weird I know but aromatherapy can be a lot more powerful than people realise).

I'm thinking aving a strict no IT after 8pm might be something that helps although I've never been able to do this. When did technology get so distruptive?????

Sorry not to have a magic bullet.

Lis

 

[FDG]

Nobody here exercises or gets sunlight? I don't think there's really anything else that helps as much.

 

[tinkerbell]

FDG - I do both, it really doens't help

 

[Kangirl]

Nobody here exercises or gets sunlight? I don't think there's really anything else that helps as much.

For me, there is nothing like the tiredness that comes from spending a day outdoors (hiking, working or even just hanging out at the beach swimming and sunning etc.). There's a reason babies fall into such a deep sleep after an outing!

 

[Ezion]

It's very rare that I'd even want to switch thinking off, but on the occassion I do I usually close my eyes and visualize a completely white space devoid of anything. Maintaining that canvas takes a lot of focus. Some types of music help (usually words are distracting, though).

I don't do this often, though. Only when I need to thoroughly contemplate something.

 

[Hendo Barbarosa]

you're saying one could replace "thorough contemplation" with "sleep"?

 

[Chemgrl82]

When I said it gets expressed as NT, I meant that her mental activity moves in the direction of trying to put ideas together, whereas other people's activity might move in the direction of trying to stimulate themselves (SeFi), glean personal meaning from things (NeFi), understand how the world works (TeNi), etc. But they all come out of the same basic restlessness.

I'm just speculating, anyway.

I'd tend to agree with this. I don't think a restless mind can be narrowed down to type, or even functions. I talk to a lot of people that struggle with this, myself included, and tend to think it may be just as Edahn stated: deeper issues that manifest themselves in the forms of one's dominant functions and/or temperment. I'd say we tend to recognize these manifestations in others of our same temperment, first - that's all.

Personally, I'd tend to think a restless mind stems from one, some, or even all of the below issues:

-stress
-anxiety
-depression
-one's developed psyche that has formed this pattern of thought over an extended period of time (aka - habit)
-boredom (which could be simply a learned habit, as stated above)
-creativity/imagination

This could also go into how left, right or balanced brained someone is, as well. I find that my mind is generally restless and it's not usually a problem until about 3AM. At that point, I do get a bit frustrated. I have also noticed that physcial exertion during the day (a set exercise routine) will give my mind a rest at night and I'm able to fall asleep easier. While I realize there are plenty of things that can help this, exercise is a fail safe for me.

 

[ThatGirl]

I'd tend to agree with this. I don't think a restless mind can be narrowed down to type, or even functions. I talk to a lot of people that struggle with this, myself included, and tend to think it may be just as Edahn stated: deeper issues that manifest themselves in the forms of one's dominant functions and/or temperment. I'd say we tend to recognize these manifestations in others of our same temperment, first - that's all.

Personally, I'd tend to think a restless mind stems from one, some, or even all of the below issues:

-stress
-anxiety
-depression
-one's developed psyche that has formed this pattern of thought over an extended period of time (aka - habit)
-boredom (which could be simply a learned habit, as stated above)
-creativity/imagination

This could also go into how left, right or balanced brained someone is, as well. I find that my mind is generally restless and it's not usually a problem until about 3AM. At that point, I do get a bit frustrated. I have also noticed that physcial exertion during the day (a set exercise routine) will give my mind a rest at night and I'm able to fall asleep easier. While I realize there are plenty of things that can help this, exercise is a fail safe for me.

Or you could just be the type of person that processes a lot of crap

 

[tinkerbell]

why did you have to mention sleepless nights, it 4.48am here and not a wink of sleep....

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr



Lis