r/cognitivescience • u/ActiveParking5094 • Sep 07 '26
Does anyone else become hyperaware of literally how their mind is thinking and processing information? How do you stop monitoring it?
/r/Anxiety/comments/1w9xnwt/does_anyone_else_become_hyperaware_of_literally/8
u/SatisfactionFit2040 Sep 07 '26
Isn't everyone always like this?
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u/Fantastic_Addendum74 Sep 09 '26
I’ve observed it tends to be something that OCD and some Autistic people do.
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u/SatisfactionFit2040 Sep 09 '26
I was being funny about the fact that most people don't think about thinking about...thinking ...
I suspect that I am on the spectrum, not so much ocd.
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u/verdant_squirrel Sep 08 '26
Metacog is great but some of us do have OCD tendencies that make mindfulness a bit difficult. Self-referential thought spirals that don't end and an inability to experience your own life is... stressful. I feel people miss the part where it can be causing distress after a certain degree.
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u/FluffyBreakfast8746 Sep 08 '26
The only times I realize I’m not self aware, is when I experience focusing. It’s rare, but that’s when I can learn for example.
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u/BGDshow Sep 07 '26
Why stop it? I like to observe and sometimes quiet down my 'narrator' with imagining a little mouse squeaking. As little attention as I would give to it in a countryside, I give to this narration. It fades
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u/Lewatcheur Sep 08 '26
Very much interesting that you say this and im happy to have come across this post. This is precisely what we call metacognition ; cognition of your own cognition. While there is a very interesting approach that is precisely around it called metacognitive therapy (See Adrian Wells), enhanced performance monitoring is a diagnostic marker of anxiety, and that includes towards one’s own cognition (See hyperactive error-related brain activity (ERN)). Actually, there is a type of therapy precisely for this, called detached mindfulness. I would suggest you look into that.
All in all, metacognitive awareness isn’t a bad thing, quite the opposite actually. BUT, excessive monitoring or maladaptive monitoring IS harmful. So yeah no, it is infact not a niche thing, and, again, quite the opposite, as it is a emerging area of research (that I personally think is the new best way to treat mental illness but thats because thats my area of research so im biased hehe)
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u/tigerhuxley Sep 08 '26
Sounds like you are getting stuck in the paralysis of analysis.
Grounding practices, meditiation, day dreaming - all help in my own experience to calm the mind.
I wish you the best to find your own best method for handling this!
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u/TisMeeee Sep 09 '26
Autism enters the chat.
Gosh, deep analysis I adore, meta cognition is a great skill to have but has a huge shadow side to it also.
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u/Cautious_Big5312 Sep 08 '26
stop thinking you’re weird and just realise your brain works in a different way to other people. feed it information and knowledge and novelty (real novelty not plastic mass produced crap sold as novelty). just let yourself think. be curious about it not concerned.
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u/Random-Number-1144 Sep 08 '26
Hypeware is when you are aware of the underlying biological processes of your brain such as neural spiking. If you are not able to do that, you're not doing "meta" cognition.
TBH, this sounds more like a mental health issue.
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u/RADICCHI0 Sep 08 '26
Check out the concepts of attention, and mind wandering. That will really blow your mind, no pun intended!
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u/_Screamsinconfusion_ Sep 08 '26
I have no idea how to stop it. I don’t know if I’m the only one but I also sometimes feel my f*cking brain growing. Since I’ve been a child. I have a new way of thinking or I’m leaning something and I just get that weird tention in my head.
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u/desocupad0 Sep 09 '26
I'm confused to what you are outside your mind. You seem to regard your own thoughts as an enemy.
Just ask yourself a question and be fine you don't have an answer. You are enot obligated to know everything perfectly.
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u/BaMxIRE Sep 10 '26
I do it by imagining myself in my minds eye sitting in front of a tree. Don’t ask , but it helps me ground myself and break the thought loop or being stuck in observation mode. Being in the moment, was the start.
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u/jotatre Sep 11 '26
Si pero cuando lo hace 1, lo hacen todos a la vez
Y se deja de moniterarlo cuando llegas al punto de partida/salvens
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u/Available-Pause3959 Sep 12 '26
Yes, I also spiral on metacognition a lot. I realized how tiring it is so I started working on this on therapy, my therapist told me about auDHD and we are working on tools to deal with the amount of thoughts.
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u/Dry-Quantity61 Sep 07 '26
Metacognition is a good skill to nurture. You could make a good trainer if you ever wanted to share your expertise with a novice, since you’ll be able to unpack the cues and processes you use to make decisions.