Abby,

How much Seroquel?
Yes, that could be something along the lines of rapid cycling.
What you describe sounds close to what I call racing thoughts (I have no idea what racing thoughts really mean). . . or maybe something close to a mixed state. (that's another phrase that I am probably misusing -- my pdocs did not talk technical terminology with me so I did not learn them except from reading.)

I'm soooooo out of it tonight (can't think straight) but I have some thoughts.

When I can't deal with what is going on in my head, sometimes I have to take it out of my head -- go physical.

I apologize for not remembering your physical status -- I do remember that it is difficult.

Having said that, it used to help me to DO something different. . . . make a change . . . . take a different route in the car . . . buy a new fruit at the store. . try a new recipe. . . see an Imax movie or some other movie that completely overwhelms me for 2 hours.

Also,
-Meditation:
Just sit still and focus on a spot in the garden or on the wall and sit quietly and listen to yourself breathe.

-Self-talk:
You already do this. Keep doing this. Talk yourself into feeling better eventually.

-Talking it out:
I used to borrow my friend's dog and go have a chat with the dog.

-Giving yourself a pedicure or manicure

-Foot massage

-Acupuncture as you noted in a different thread

-I took a pottery class a few summers ago and benefitted greatly from it. My pieces looked like crap. I think I only kept one. But I was working with my hands (not in my head) and focusing. And it was more about process than results. It helped me slow down and be patient.
This reminds me that I used to love to bake bread.
I was a good cure for anxiety.


Some of these don't work for me any more.
We change.
You'll find your "tool box" -- in some therapy practices patients are encouraged to actually put together a box of stuff that they can pull out when they need it -- pictures, CDs, card, fabric swatches with texture, small gifts from earlier days. ----anything that helps make them ok.

Walking and then Yoga saved my life.

I used to keep a journal different from the journal that others are talking about here.
I felt it important to record my day. I would write what happened. Sometimes I would only write a few sentences about what I had done, where I had gone, what had come up. Other times I would write more. I guess the journals were kind of like Star Trek "ship's log." I wanted a record of my day.
I'm not sure of what the purpose was but I felt that they were very important and have saved them (a rough guess makes me think that I might have 15+ years of journals -- don't feel like looking in the closet and looking at dates -- I started this in the old days before computers and even after computers kept up the handwriting.)
I was an almost daily habit I felt good about.

Mari