For a few glorious weeks each summer, Saratoga celebrates horses bred to run. Speed is admired. Racing is encouraged. Thousands arrive hoping to watch something move very, very fast.

Unfortunately, some of our brains seem to believe they have also entered the races at Saratoga.

Thoughts race. Worries race. We rehearse tomorrow while replaying yesterday. And somewhere around 2:00 in the morning, the brain decides this would be an excellent time to reconsider every unfinished issue from the previous decade.

On the racetrack, speed can win the purse. Inside the human mind, faster is not always better.

Why Thinking Harder Often Fails

Here is the peculiar problem with a racing mind: we usually try to think our way out of thinking too much. Yet, the busy mind can turn a two-minute problem into a three-hour documentary.

We argue with the worry. Analyze the anxiety. Search for certainty. Reassure ourselves. In other words, we use the same busy mind that created the problem to solve the problem.

Try telling yourself, “Stop thinking about that.” Your brain responds, “Excellent idea. Let’s check once more to make sure we’re not thinking about it.”

Medication can sometimes be useful and appropriate. Others reach for alcohol, THC, sleep aids or other substances because they temporarily turn down the volume. Yet temporary quiet is not the same as learning how to become quiet. With repeated use,........

© The Saratogian