The Bipolar Brain – A Radio Station You Can’t Turn Off

Hello everyone. OCD and anxiety is a liar, it makes us believe the worst case scenarios of our imaginations. I get songs in my head quite a bit, I had to learn to not only accept it but encourage it. I learned this from my intrusive thoughts, images and thoughts that were so horrible that my mind kept playing it over and over again. I learned that once the fear of having such thoughts was removed, the images faded on their own. Same with the songs in my mind. It happens to just about everybody, according to research 98% get music or songs playing in their minds and 90% of people it happens to at least 4 times a week. Meaning its our anxiety about it that causes our grief, as this happens to 9 out of 10 people multiple times a week or more. Those people do not have underlying anxiety or OCD which means its probably playing in their heads and they barely notice it. Same with me, when my anxiety levels are down, I don’t even realize its there.

Please try listening to an audiobook. Though it's not a permanent fix, it will allow you to take a break from the barrage. I can listen out loud on my phone, but some may need to try it with headphones to keep out other distractions. Just make sure it's something you're actually interested in listening to so your mind doesn't wander. I do this when I'm doing things like dishes or repetitive tasks at work. Hope this helps someone.

I’m 49 and have songs, different ones and only a few lines, pop into my head at least 10 to 20 times a day. This has been this way for over since on and off since I was a teenager. I also have severe tinnitus but I’m positive it’s not related. Finding these comments has made me realise I’m not alone as my psychologist was clueless.
The songs annoy me and frustrate me when they won’t stop to the point of yelling at them in my head but most of look at them like I have a subconscious “Bumblebee “ ( from the movie transformers who could only speak via songs from the car radio )who sends me messages in the form of music. I’ve learnt to listen to my songs and try and tap into my emotional state at that moment to see if my mind is trying to tell me something.
My songs are from every era, every genre and sometimes songs my conscious has never heard. Normally in the form of repetitive few lines and never the same after the situational “loop” has ended.
I have severe anxiety, panic disorder and ocd and I am not medicated as I believe drugs don’t work. I do take CBD oil from my anxiety which is marvellous and I find my musical brain sends me songs more and more when anxiety and worry are higher ( even if outwardly I don’t feel anxious I did deeper to find the root cause )
I relied on music as a teenager to get me through my parents messy divorce, I used it to stop hearing their yelling. I use to to make me feel good and I’m positive my brain is using it in a way to self medicate when it thinks I need it. So I listen, accept and it goes away until the next moment in the day I need it.

Hi
Ive been experiencing the same thing recently for last few months. Any Era of songs , im 63 , so a vast variety! I had a Brain Tumour 16 years ago and have been having frequent headaches and i have 2 children with Mental Health problems too.
However, i find if i just sing along to whatever appears , it will eventually give up after awhile , even if it takes a few hours of singing to do it!
It is just conditioning your brain to say " No " i dont want to play your stupid games! Good Luck ?

I have taken various antidepressants for years. Sometimes I see to get immune to one and have to switch it up. My insurance i have now I have to go clinic. They are not as knowledgeable as most psychiatrist im used to seeing. So I am suffering during covid, no able to figure out a way to get a better doctor. Long story short. I do not have earworms when my meds are working right.

I hear bits of songs or even film soundtracks ,the most recent is the Halloween soundtrack ,sometimes it gets out and sometimes comes back and sometimes replaces itself I do not why this happens just the mind chooses what to play on and on ,I try to exercise ,sometimes works out and sometimes doesn't ,I listen to relaxing Tibetan music works out for a short time and the radio station comes back ,funny I did not realize it was so common in people

I have posted on this forum many times over the last few years commenting on musical intrusive thoughts. I have tried many different methods to try and help with these intrusive thoughts without success.
Anyway, I have now decided to try a 30 session course of TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) as I have seen many positive reviews about this treatment. I will update this forum as I proceed with the treatment over the coming months. If it proves to be helpful then maybe others might be tempted to try the treatment (although it is expensive).

I can't remember a time in my life, at ANY point in time, where I didn't have some song "playing" in the background in my head. If I'm listening to music its whatever I'm listening to, so I prefer to have music on a lot so I'm not just hearing bits of songs on repeat, but it's constant. It's almost like I'm in a movie or TV show with background music going, my own personal radio station in my head.
Sometimes its great, like when I'm having fun and a perfect song will pop into my head and then its like I have my own personal soundtrack going. Other times it feeds into depression or other negative feelings and makes them worse. The songs tend to be tied to my mood, upbeat songs when I'm happy, sad songs when I'm upset, fast songs when I'm panicked or manic. Sometimes the song causes the mood, especially if I'm listening to music. A song I like can pick me up on a bad day, or a song that my mind associates with feeling down can sink me out of a good mood. Other times the song stuck in my head will change if something changes my mood.
The songs themselves never really bother me, aside from getting annoying sometimes like listening to a song on repeat or if its a song I dislike. Most of the time its just music I know and I don't mind the soundtrack. If the songs change often enough or I'm focused on something else I don't even notice all the time unless I think about it. Usually I notice when a single bit of a song gets stuck in my head on loop or if it's a song I dislike. But it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one with an iPod stuck in their head, haha.

Same happen to me,songs never stop playing

I literally had a Justin Bieber random song in my head I’m scared it’s 2021 wtf I don’t even listen to him ughhh wowowowowow

I have been living for this now for over a year, and as much as it is distressing at first I have found that the brain begins to adapt to it and slowly it seems to fade into the background and just become a more normal thing.
I’ve been to the doctor and had an mri done with normal results. I also see my psychiatrist every three months and have tried antipsychotic and antidepressant medication which neither have made it fade, I am now going lower on my medication since it hasn’t made any difference. Anyways, if you are newly suffering with this awful condition try to keep your head up and hopefully eventually you will just start to adapt to it and it won’t be such a bother, or if you’re lucky enough it will fade completely. But you are not alone in this condition.

I tried searching earworm and bipolar, and was so surprised to find no research papers. I’m in a hypomanic episode currently. Mine are often triggered by stress and sleep routine disruption. I have been sleeping very little but still feel wide awake, and CONSTANTLY have a couple of songs in my head that just go round in a loop. My mind plays/sings them very fast, over and over and I find it characteristic of a hypomanic episode at this point: racing thoughts, jumping between random topics with certain parts of songs played in a loop in between. I experience earworm at ‘stable’ times too (like most people), but never so intensely. Thanks for this post!

I too have the ever playing music in my head . Hope it don't get stuck on the "loompa-loompa" song again , there are worse... I also have tinitise that I only notice when it's quiet or I think about it . Once in a in a blue moon it stops as does the music and it seems like somethings wrong . I have found at least a way to change the song playing tho- do what the radio station does when the song ends , announce the stations call letters like 102.5 WDVE Pittsburgh. That usually it . If not - go to commercial...

I do this all the time. I never knew that there was a word for it. I never knew that OCD and bipolar could go hand in hand I always thought that I had OCD I have found that wearing my headphones and listening to music constantly all day long helps with the earworms. I really don't hear the music as much it actually helps me be able to focus on what I'm doing at the time people find it strange but it actually helps me normalize my day if that makes sense. I'm glad I found this article because I just thought the super annoying songs in my head which seem to be somewhere over the rainbow and do re mi from The sound of music which as you can tell super annoying which I saw someone talking about the oompa loompa song above in a comment so that's just as annoying. But you should try out the headphone thing if you have this problem and it's severe because it really does help and I know people won't understand but you can actually function and concentrate a lot easier. Thank you for this article.

I haven’t gone a single day without a song in my head for as long as I can remember (30 years?). And I tell you, when you go into a room to have a meeting and you have ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ stuck in your head, where it has been for hours, it is frustrating and suuuuuuper difficult to concentrate.
I do have some songs that help melt some of the loudest songs to a more dull roar that I will try to particularly put in my head. But it switches too fast. Like a child fiddling with a radio.
And it isnt just songs, it is words and phrases with no tune, like words like “archipelago” or “vernacular” or “haberdashery”.
My family doctor had no idea. My psychiatrist was the first to mention ‘auditory hallucinations’ but I am not so sure that is correct.
I have tried so many methods to get rid of the songs, like the shout it out variation. But activities like that usually push my mania, (which is already pushing at the seams with the songs)over the edge.
I can’t focus on reading, I can’t meditate because my brain is having a dance party which just pushes me on edge and diving for my playlist to put on something different.

don't know if this is a bipolar thing --- but then didn't know I was bipolar until diagnosed last month! It suggests we really should pay closer attention to what we are listening to. The good news is all art is art (but is all music, honestly good art?) I used to be able to drown out my thoughts using a journal then listening to a good CD.

I don't know if you are still reading this in 2022 but I'll write anyway. I've had earworms off and on for years but more recently two songs played in my head for several months. Then my doctor increased my thyroid dosage and the songs mostly went away. Now I'm frustrated because I really miss them and cannot re-activate those two songs.

Hello, please help me. ALL the time i heard music in my head. I want off this .........

Never thought someone has the same obssessive thing like I have. I have earworms usually in the morning when I am the most exhausted and in a bad mood. The song(s) is stuck in my head and won't go away!! My brain is really tired over these obseessive thinking.

I have this with a little more "spice" i call it. Whenever I have an earworm I connect it to a place/activity/object. So now everytime I'm eating something I have this one specific song in my mind. I have this with every aspect of my life and If not it's another song that's in the background. Been suffering with this for only two months and already feeling like giving up, great...

Wow - this describes exactly what I go through. Sometimes it's triggered by a song I heard. On some occasions I dreamt about a song and woke with it in my head. Often I'll hear a phrase that triggers a song. Oddly, the phrase doesn't even need to be lyrics from the actual song, but just loosely tied to a past occasion or mental association. Sometimes one song sounds like another and I'll cycle back and forth between the two.
I used to consider this an asset. After all, I could analyze music and "decompose" it into its component parts. That helped me a ton when performing or writing music. However, with age I find that I never, ever get a break from the "mental radio". And it seems to get worse with time.
Does anyone else have a "sweet spot" with hypomania where things are clear, the mental chatter is actually helpful, and the music is actually a nice thing? I have that for a short time and then it quickly devolves into a cacophony of chatter where I can barely focus on anything else. Ugh...