In Buddhism, there is a term that sounds like a delicious Mexican dish called Papancha, which translates loosely to "endless mental chatter".

If you were to write down every thought that you had over an 8-hour period and then read the long, meandering mess aloud to yourself, you'd think you had gone as mad as a hatter. That's Papancha. You suffer from Papancha. I suffer from Papancha. We all suffer from Papancha.

I would liken Papancha to a rabbit hole that a single uncomfortable thought or emotion can tug us down.

It might look something like this...

"My head kind of hurts. I wonder if I've drank enough water today? You know what, I haven't had caffeine yet. Wait, I had a cup of coffee earlier this morning. I wonder why my head hurts then? I better take some Advil. I can't take Advil on an empty stomach. I better not eat yet. I'm trying to fast until 2 p.m. I wonder why my head hurts? Now that I think about it, my head has been hurting a lot lately. I better go see the doctor. I'm hungry. I wonder why Terry was so short with me yesterday. He looked so annoyed. Maybe he was in a hurry. No. He just doesn't like me. I've always felt like he doesn't like me. My head hurts. Terry is such an asshole. If I don't cook that chicken for dinner it will spoil. I don't feel like cooking though. My head hurts. I wonder if I should invite Terry out to dinner to make sure he likes me."

There is a Buddhist axiom that warns against Papancha...

"Don't believe everything you think."

To keep from getting completely swept away from all that endless mental chatter, allow yourself to be entertained by it. Think about Papancha as a drunk friend who won't shut up and who isn't making any sense. Sit with him. Laugh with him. Joke with him. Let him have his fun. But, whatever you do, don't try to control him. You can't control a drunk just like you can't control Papancha. You just must be aware when you are Papancha-ing.