Mental Vortexes

Mental Vortexes | By Murat Saban (PhD)

Now a bit of depth and a bit of darkness enter the picture. So we’re heading down and we’re doing it in circles… This thing is plainly called a “Mental Vortex,” but science prefers to call it a “downward spiral.” Maybe because it sounds better.

Mental Vortexes are a state of crisis brought on by thoughts fueled by negative emotions. The most distinct difference from the rumination cycle is that the direction of thinking unfolds not horizontally, but vertically.

During this process, a “sinking feeling” takes over. We’re being pulled down uncontrollably. We’re in the layer of emotions, caught in a violent undertow churned with negative feelings. Conceptual labeling and logical analysis simply don’t work. We’ve lost control almost entirely. The surface light we can barely glimpse from the center of the Mental Vortex keeps shrinking; we’re drifting further from the light, and that wipes out our hope of reaching the surface altogether. Should we be afraid? I think so.

And then, from what might be the last ring of the fading surface light, we see a signal flare drifting down. It’s as if they’ve noticed us, as if there’s someone up on the surface. Yes, they’ve seen us, they’re signaling that they’ve come to rescue us. We need to hold on a little longer; the boat is about to break apart, but we have to hold on. The real relief begins as the structure of the Mental Vortex starts to change. It doesn’t seem as fast as before, it seems slower, as if it’s breaking apart. Someone is interfering with the structure of the vortex. They’re weakening the force of this dark current. The storm is calming, my friend, I think we’ll be able to see the surface again. Come on, hold on a little more. We’re almost there.

Mental Vortexes can be so terrifying at times that you need the help of a qualified expert to escape them. Because just as no two minds are the same, no two vortexes are the same either. So instead of comparing yourself to others’ methods and asking, “Why can’t I manage this?”, an individual should know that their own ocean and their own vortex require specialized engineering knowledge and work. The same awareness is necessary for the expert, too. We were lucky, because we came across a true professional. We can consider this expert a part of our team. Let’s give them a round of respect.

The most terrifying moment of the Mental Vortex was when we said, “No one sees me, no one hears me.” We were lost, and no one cared. A dark loneliness had seized our entire being like a black shroud. But that signal flare the expert sent down planted hope in our hearts. We had been seen. I guess this must be what they call early detection. Of course, diagnosis and treatment followed right after. Symptoms and patterns were brought together. Lifestyle adjustments or support systems were put into action immediately. The goal was to break the vortex at the neurochemical level and make resurfacing possible again. It was a complete team effort.

Breaking a formidable Mental Vortex isn’t possible through one-sided effort. Because the vortex arises from the combination of both internal and external dynamics. Expecting the expert to disperse the vortex alone, as if with a “magic wand,” isn’t realistic. This is more of a process. In this process, the inside, the person’s own awareness, will, and small steps , and the outside, expert support, social ties, and environmental adjustments, need to work together.

The difficulty of tough Mental Vortexes comes from the strong neural networks that thoughts fed by negative emotions build in the brain. With each repetition, these networks grow even stronger, keeping the mind from using alternative paths. And so the person is pulled back into the same negative thought again and again. The vortex deepens through this very force. The medical intervention the expert made with medication was meant to weaken those strong neural networks. We, too, made very good use of the opportunity created for us, by building new neural connections with the new thoughts we developed, we sped up the process, and in the end we dispersed that dark vortex. It can’t scare us anymore.

The fuel that forms Mental Vortexes of thought is pessimistic emotions. In truth, pessimistic emotions alone can’t create a vortex, but when they combine with thought, they can become truly terrifying. Because what we call a vortex is a negative emotion merging with thought, feeding itself, and turning into a cycle that grows as it feeds. This dark cycle grows so large that it can eventually turn into a shadow empire that blocks the entire mind.

Emotion is the triggering element in the formation of this phenomenon. An intensely felt emotion, anxiety, fear, longing, loss, hopelessness, etc. , forces the mind to produce thoughts. Thoughts like “Why do I feel this way?” or “Will it always be like this?” come into play. In reality, emotions are temporary. Whatever you’re feeling, it will end sooner or later. For example, a fear comes and goes. Anger comes and goes. Hatred comes and goes. Is it just the bad emotions? Of course not, this rule applies to all emotions. That’s the nature of emotions. They come and they go. But they aren’t going! Why?

Because they integrate into your ruminative thoughts. That way, they get called up again and again. By extending the time spent thinking, you’re actually initiating a vicious cycle. Now let’s recall the strong neural networks once more. You know, those biological traces that emerge from the repetition of thoughts. They were useful in the formation of learning, habits, reflexes, and logical patterns of thinking. In truth, nothing changed in the working principles of the mind. Strong networks formed again. This time they were even stronger. Because they were fed by emotions, and so the conditions for forming a Mental Vortex were set.

To understand why Mental Vortexes are so jarring, let’s start not with the fall itself, but with understanding where we fell from. The human mind notices major breaks early on, but micro-habits that come with small, repeated behaviors take over our cells one by one, slowly. Constantly repeating thoughts that seem harmless turn into strong networks over time, gaining the power to alter the natural flow of our mental activity. Those little repetitions that make you feel good are actually building a structure without you noticing. This structure becomes so powerful that it turns into a part of your character. And what makes you feel the collapse so intensely is the collapse of that part of you.

So why couldn’t you notice this building process? Because those small, tiny, cute repetitions felt good. That’s why your mind perceived them not as a threat, but as relief. And so, without crossing your threshold of awareness, neural networks that would become a part of you began to be woven. When a person looks back, they can see very clearly that the process didn’t arrive all at once , it was woven step by step. Yes, we had a bad experience, but the good news is this: we’re now aware of what’s been going on.

If you catch the process early, you won’t be affected by the collapse this much. Questioning like “When did I end up like this?” is a major step toward getting out of the cycle, the current, or the Mental Vortex. The will, which hasn’t been working very efficiently inside the automatic repetition that’s been going on for a while, kicks back in and starts observing what’s happening in the thinking process. This is the first stir of revival. This stir needs to be strengthened. Because the cycle isn’t broken yet, you’ve only developed an awareness of what’s going on. Scientifically, this moment is called “metacognitive.” This concept doesn’t refer to the ongoing thinking process, but to thinking about the way you think. In short, it’s the manifestation of saying, “Hold on a second, what’s happening to us?” We could also call it an upper segment of cognitive activity. It’s as if the High General Assembly realized something was wrong and lifted its head to take a look around.

Building awareness to escape the Mental Vortex is a very important step, but it’s not always that easy. Because the deeper the mind sinks, the more it uses negative thought pathways, and due to cortisol poisoning from prolonged stress, it adopts a “pessimism and helplessness” mode as a character trait. If you’ve become part of the vortex, it means the situation is heading toward a critical point. What this means is: the individual develops a “biochemical belief.” So much so that they don’t even feel the need to make a move to escape. They absolutely need professional support to get out. But cooperation is essential. Getting out of the storm you’ve fallen into depends entirely on you, because a hand is needed to hold the helm, and you are the captain of this boat.

The Rumination Cycle