What people are struggling with

Unwanted or repetitive thoughts that stick in your mind and replay.

Trying to "push away" a thought only to have it return stronger.

Mental energy spent wrestling with thoughts instead of engaging with the present.

Feeling like your mind has a mind of its own.

Why this keeps repeating

The mental effort to suppress a thought gives it more energy and prominence.

The brain flags the thought as important because you are resisting it.

There is a lack of neutral mental space; the default is to engage with every thought that arises.

My personal experience

A critical comment replaying on a loop for days.

The harder I tried to stop thinking about something, the more I thought about it.

Losing chunks of time to internal arguments with no one.

Where this lives in the Cosmic Mirror

Clarity Layer: Thought attachment and cognitive fusion.

What actually helped me

Silently saying "Noted" or "Thanks, mind" when a sticky thought arose, without engaging its content.

Setting a visual: placing the thought on a leaf and watching it float down a stream.

Asking, "Is this thought useful to me right now?" If not, I'd name it ("worrying," "rehashing") and gently redirect my attention to my senses.

Things to try

Speak your sticky thought out loud in a silly voice.

Set a timer for 3 minutes and write the thought down repeatedly until the time is up.

Focus intently on the physical details of an object in the room for 60 seconds.

Common mistakes or traps

Believing you must resolve or "solve" a thought to be free of it.

Judging yourself for having the thought, which creates a secondary layer of distress.

Using constant distraction to avoid thoughts, which prevents you from building the skill to let them pass.

Related paths to explore

Obsessive problem-solving

Persistent mental static

Mental rigidity / stuck thinking