I started to tell myself “leave it alone” every time I got a thought to remind myself not to engage and just leave it there but now I say it in my head when I anticipate a thought or even think about my situation at all. I’m kind of saying it to myself a lot now and I think it might have turned into a compulsion on accident but I’m not sure?

Well, compulsions tend to become obstacles in your daily life. Is it turning into something annoying and troubling you? Bc if so then, yes, probably. With unwanted thoughts I usually think of my mind as a pretty wild playground where ideas -my own and the alien ones I've picked up from outside- move around and transform. It helps because I stops the impulse of associating all my thoughts with my person and so, there's no need to engage to "fix them" Meditation could also help, dont stop thoughts. Just let then flow. I've been using this app called Simple Habit for over a month now and its got some useful tips if you wanna check it out. You can do it Sara ♡

I’ve had the same problem! Try not to worry about it becoming a compulsion; the thoughts only have power if you give it to them. Still, if you’re worried, consider alternate things to say or do to relieve yourself. For example, I’ve been trying to distract myself by driving my mind to good memories—the three times I’ve outsmarted my brother playing video games, when I made a miraculous recovery on my grades in school last semester, my 13th birthday—it doesn’t have to be anything big, as long as it makes you feel better. I’ve also found it helpful to breathe. Slowly count to three or five as you inhale, hold on three, then slowly exhale as you count to three or five again; rinse and repeat until your anxiety has passed. I hope this helps ☺️

Thanks! I've just listened to a meditation, it's really good.

Thank you I’ll try both of these!

@Baba Can you recommend some meditations from this app?

Of course! I'm still pretty new myself but I've been enjoying the Simple Habit Starter series a lot- it's simple and the guide is nice- and been using the Unguided ones once I felt I was getting the hang of it after some exercise. The app also sometimes lets you have a trial of premium, so if there's a series you have interest in but it's locked, you can try waiting for that chance and download them all to use when offline ♡