The Thought Carousel: A Familiar Phenomenon. We’ve all experienced it: those moments when our thoughts spin uncontrollably, like a carousel. Worries, fears, and problems swirl around in our minds, leaving us restless and often robbing us of sleep. But this cycle can be broken. Here, you’ll learn how to quickly stop the thought carousel and regain your inner calm.
Overview of All Topics
What Are Thought Carousels and Why Do They Happen?
Thought carousels have various causes and are often deeply rooted in our daily lives. Stress and overload are common triggers. When faced with a flood of stressful situations, our thoughts tend to spin in an endless loop, leaving us feeling trapped and unable to find solutions. The constant pressure to handle multiple tasks at once overwhelms the brain and blocks constructive problem-solving.
Anxiety and worry also play a significant role in the development of thought carousels. Fears about the future, health concerns, financial insecurities, or interpersonal issues can trap our minds in a spiral of negative thinking.
Another source of thought carousels is deeply ingrained negative thought patterns and beliefs about ourselves or the world. These beliefs can create a vicious cycle of self-doubt and pessimistic thoughts. Some of these patterns stem from early childhood experiences, while others develop over time. Regardless of how they originated, they strongly influence our emotions and thought processes.
In addition to psychological factors, an unhealthy lifestyle and lack of self-care can intensify thought carousels. Lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and sedentary habits can throw the body off balance, affecting mental health. A healthy body is therefore crucial in stopping the thought carousel and finding inner peace.
It’s important to recognize that thought carousels are a natural part of the human mind, and everyone experiences them from time to time. However, when thoughts seem to spin endlessly, it’s necessary to take action. The good news is that thought carousels can be stopped, reduced, and even eliminated. Breaking free from persistent negative thoughts involves identifying and addressing the root causes. This may mean learning stress management techniques, challenging negative thought patterns, establishing self-care practices, and fostering healthy habits. By actively caring for our physical and mental well-being, we can break the cycle of negative thoughts and return to a balanced and calm state of mind.
The Simplest Trick to Stop Thought Carousels Is Also the Best
There’s a reason why we talk about “spinning” thoughts—many people can observe the exact direction in which their thought carousel turns, whether to the left or right, vertically like a standing wheel, or horizontally like a flat disc. Some even imagine a roller moving back and forth or a spiral winding up or down.
An amazingly simple trick to get rid of your thought carousel is to focus on the precise spinning direction when your mind is racing. Once you identify your individual spinning direction, you’ll notice it’s a repeating pattern—it always spins the same way when you start ruminating.
Here’s how to calm your mind in just a few seconds. First, pay attention to the spinning direction of your thought carousel, and then imagine it spinning in the exact opposite direction. Important: don’t focus on the content of your thoughts—only on the opposite spin.
Observe what happens. If you can concentrate well, you may notice the carousel slowing down within seconds. For best results, continue focusing on the reversed spinning direction for at least ten more seconds. Do you feel yourself becoming noticeably calmer? Many people find this to be a magical moment when peace settles in their mind for the first time in days. If the cartwheel starts up again, repeat the exercise. Over time, your brain learns that endless ruminating is no longer desired, and these quiet pauses in your mind will gradually become longer.
Additional Ways to Break Free from Thought Carousels
Imagine lying awake at night with your mind full of worries about the future, past events, and feelings of helplessness. A simple step to shrink the power of these thoughts is to recognize that our thoughts do not necessarily reflect reality. They are products of our minds and do not have to be true. They exist only in our heads, and we have the power to influence and change them. By learning to observe our thoughts without judging or letting them control us, we create a distance that can reduce their hold on us. For many, just this step alone helps begin the process of questioning their thoughts.
Shifting your focus to other things can also break the cycle of spinning thoughts. Try grounding yourself by noticing elements of your surroundings, like the corner of the room, a plant, or the window. Another method for shifting focus is to practice breathing exercises. These exercises can help slow down your system and divert your attention away from your thoughts. There are many types of breathing exercises you can explore; I’ll share a simple one here that is great for relieving stress and stopping the thought carousel.
The 5-Finger Breathing Exercise
Sit in a comfortable position and relax your shoulders. You can close your eyes or soften your gaze downward to help you focus.
Extend one hand in front of you with fingers spread wide. Using the index finger of your other hand, trace around your fingers as you begin to take deep breaths.
Place your tracking index finger at the bottom of your thumb. Inhale deeply through your nose, moving your index finger up along the outer edge of your thumb to its tip.
Exhale deeply, moving your finger back down the other side of the thumb and returning to where you started. With one full inhale and exhale, you will have traced around your thumb completely.
Repeat this process with each remaining finger, breathing in as you trace up one side and out as you trace down the other. When you reach the pinky, if your thoughts are still racing, start again from the thumb.
The goal is to shift your focus to yourself, your body, and your breathing, redirecting your attention away from spiraling thoughts. The 5-Finger Breathing Exercise can deepen your breath, calm your mind, and bring a sense of inner peace. By concentrating on the movement of your finger and synchronizing it with your breath, you can shift your focus away from the carousel of thoughts and toward a feeling of relaxation and tranquility.
Stopping Thought Carousels for Good: Working with Beliefs
To stop thought carousels long-term, working with underlying negative beliefs may be essential. Beliefs are deeply ingrained ideas about ourselves or the world that can trigger and fuel thought carousels. For many people, these beliefs are formed in childhood and can have either positive or negative effects. Recognizing this is a crucial step.
Consider an example involving a child we’ll call Johannes. During a car ride, his mother asks, “Are you feeling sick from the ride yet?” Although well-meaning, as she might experience motion sickness herself, this question inadvertently implies that feeling sick in the car is normal. Over time, Johannes may grow up to become an adult who lies awake all night before a long car trip, already anticipating nausea. Here a simple comment has instilled a belief that triggers anxiety.
The good news is that just as these beliefs were “programmed,” they can be reprogrammed. By identifying and challenging negative beliefs, we can create new, positive thought patterns to help us deal constructively with challenging situations. However, to effectively reshape beliefs, it’s essential to follow certain guidelines: positive beliefs should be framed affirmatively, avoiding any negations. For example, if you tell someone, “Don’t think of a pink elephant,” most people will picture one immediately. To prevent this effect, it’s best to avoid words like “not,” “no,” “none,” “nobody,” or “without” in affirmations.
In Johannes’s case, a more helpful belief would be something like, “I feel calm and comfortable on car rides,” rather than “I don’t feel sick in the car.” By reframing beliefs in this way, the mind focuses on a positive image and helps to reduce anxiety, allowing new, empowering thought patterns to emerge.
Better Alternatives for Positive Belief Statements:
“I enjoy the car ride.”
“I feel great throughout the entire drive.”
“I feel completely comfortable during car rides.”
Find the wording that best resonates with you and aligns with the beliefs you want to instill.
Since negative beliefs are often deeply embedded in the brain, you can use a simple trick to speed up the “positive reprogramming” process: the 5-Channel Technique, which we’ve linked in a separate blog article.
How the 5-Channel Technique Works:
This technique involves immersing yourself in your new belief using all sensory channels: what do you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste? Rather than merely repeating the belief, fully experience it in your mind.
In the example of Johannes, he could imagine a scenario where he’s a happy passenger in the car. He envisions the long highway ahead, his best friend driving, cars passing by, and his smiling face in the mirror. He hears their favorite band on the radio and the hum of the car engine. He feels the comfort of the leather seats. He smells the leather interior, his friend’s perfume, and the fresh coffee or tea he brought along. And he savors the taste of his chosen drink.
Additional Tip:
Take this mental journey in the evening, right before bedtime. This is when positive reprogramming happens fastest, as the REM phases of sleep (also known as dream phases) assist in transforming old, negative beliefs into new, positive ones.
Stopping thought carousels with the Power of Thought
For lasting success, practice this reprogramming of your brain daily. Initially, it might feel strange to work through your new beliefs mentally with the 5-Channel Technique. But as soon as you experience how quickly even deeply ingrained beliefs can dissolve, you’ll see that the effort is worth it.
Remember: every single negative belief you overcome immediately enhances your quality of life. It’s the power of your thoughts that fuels thought carousels. So why not use that same power to finally bring peace back into your mind?
Troy A.
Tampa, Florida