Disclaimer: you do you, this is a single (several times repeated) anecdata report. Fish oil is cheap so you can run this experiment at home.
Do you recognise this brain pattern:
Remember that thing you did years ago that was horrible. Now is a time to think about that and feel bad about it.
Including the variation that looks like, “oh here’s another example” for hours and hours at a time until you are successfully distracted.
Except sometimes it comes when you are idle. Like catching public transport, waiting for a doctor, or generally doing a task with spare brain cycles.
I usually treat this experience as a chance to learn from my past. Mainly because the only thing that settles a thought like, “you did this bad thing and you should feel bad” is a thought like, “I have now learnt from my mistakes and if confronted by a similar mistake like that I will now instead do X”.
Or at least that’s one strategy for making it go away.
Another strategy that makes it go away is the one I suggest for the Call Of the Void.
Focus wholly and completely and loudly on the concept. Let it take your full attention and acknowledge that yes; this is in fact a present danger and experience. Of course don’t jump, or do anything drastic, just acknowledge the feeling, boldly, sharply, ugly. Then return as you were to the other tasks at hand.
The strategy is suggested by mindfulness and Acceptance commitment therapy.
You don’t have to stop the feelings. In fact – the more you try to push a feeling away the more it will come back. A misconception is that CBT is a thought control strategy. That’s not true. CBT has you engage and challenge those thoughts. Don’t push them away. Invite them in, declare war on them, ask them for evidence and argue with them till they are beaten down and disproven.
Turns out when I take fish oil, my critical feedback loop brain track goes away.
I have been conducting experiments on myself. This is the result of iterations, trials and repetition.
I implemented a trigger-action plan, it’s not perfect.
When I notice I am in the brain loop, I mentally check when I last took fish oil.
Literally without fail for several months:
- If I purposely go off fish oil to test what happens, later that day, sometimes the next day I will find myself in a critical loop. Shortly after taking my fish oil the thoughts are gone.
- If I accidentally go off fish oil, within 24 hours of not taking fish oil I find myself in a self-critical loop.
Studies also show mixed information that fish oil makes a difference to depression. I would be willing to advocate trying it out and sticking to it if it helps. I propose if you have a brain type that causes this critical loop habit often enough or a related brain loop and fish oil can mute the loop, then it could be effective for treating depression.
I can’t explain why this happens. But I can suggest trying it and reporting back.
