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Like Aza, this girl talks about her struggles with a mental illness and how she goes about it. She goes in detail about how it feels and explains in a way others can understand and relate to. Aza tried to talk to people about how it felt but she could only describe it so well. Not everyone understood.

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One of the biggest issues I've faced, now more than ever before, is keeping myself in touch with the reality outside of me. I feel like this is a common problem in the world we live in today.

With all the new technology and ever-growing drive our generation has, we spend most of our lives thinking and doing. We no longer take the time to consume the world around us.

Everyone experiences this from time to time, but there are those of us who spend more time inside our heads than the average person. Such individuals are often incredibly intelligent, but also often a bit unstable.

Living in a quick-paced world, and maintaining a healthy mindset can prove to be incredibly difficult.

Sometimes, we feel like we're trapped in our own minds without any idea of how to navigate our way out. I'll be honest: It can be scary at times.

You lose track of time -- sometimes, days at a time.

It's not that you don't see or understand the days are flying by. It's that the time passed before realizing just how much time has passed is much greater for you than it is for most other people.

When you're trapped in your head for most of the day, it can be difficult to get yourself to notice the passing of time.

You're not just sitting in place and thinking; you're going about your day, your work, your social life, all while remaining in your own head.

This can, of course, be dangerous, as being on such a constant rotation inevitably wears us out.

Most people don't understand that our minds, like all other facets of our lives, need to be kept tidy.

If we don't slow down our minds and clear out those thoughts hiding beneath the surface, not only will days pass without us noticing, but we'll also feel the effects of struggle.

You're a hell of a thinker.

You can't be inside your mind all day without fine-tuning your thought process.

Your mind is basically a complex filing system. We file thoughts, memories, feelings and everything else that makes us human, then find ways to link them all together.

Like all things, thinking takes practice. If you want to improve your intelligence, you need to exercise your mind. Likewise, if you don't use your mind, you lose it. Those who don't make a point to exercise their minds often end up suffering from disorders like dementia.

However, thinking can get you into as much trouble as it can do you good. Just because you think a lot doesn't mean you think rationally. Mix that in with a bucketful of emotions, and you can be incredibly dangerous to yourself and those around you.

You most likely have a very good understanding of the person you are.

How could you not when you spend most of your life rummaging around in the cupboards of your mind?

You like to analyze things because that's what a mind is for; being the egocentric being that you are, you're surely going to spend significant time analyzing yourself and your life.

To be fair, no amount of analyzation without experience will do you any good. You need to experience life and all the ups and downs it offers in order to both understand yourself and your place in the world.

You're usually pretty happy.

Not always happy -- because who is these days -- but usually happy. Or rather, content. You spend most of your time with yourself; so as long as you like yourself, you'll be content with your life.

Your life isn't all sunshine and rainbows; you still live in a world where human cruelty appalls you, but you're generally happy with the person you are, where you're heading in life and how you're spending your precious time. Usually.

Everybody is a little bit different.

At times, when life throws you a curve ball, you can get emotional.

This is usually what gets those trapped in their own heads, into trouble. Having time to think and explore your mind is an incredible thing, but only if you stay positive.

When you allow your negative emotions to get the better of you, you're likely to head down a dark path.

Intense thinkers are, more often than not, obsessors. We obsess. We're able to focus on a single thing, or person, and spend countless thoughts with one subject in mind.

When your life is on the up and up, staying in the right mindset is easy. It's when finding hope and motivation becomes difficult that being trapped in your mind can turn into torture.

You're able to love more intensely.

Not necessarily more deeply, but definitely more intensely. We don't only obsess over the little things; we obsess over the big things just the same.

Falling in love is in itself, partially, an obsession. When it comes to love, those of us who are already prone to obsessing will obsess two-fold.

This can be an incredible thing, as it allows for an intense and passionate romantic love experience. However, if things start to go south, or if we even believe they're starting to go south, the pain and/or confusion is unimaginable.

At the same time, if we're wise enough and have enough experience to understand how our minds and emotions can take us for a ride, we can avoid such pitfalls.

People often think of you as a loner, and it sometimes sucks.

You like your alone time -- clearly -- yet spending so much time alone in your head makes finding people to be with -- people you need to be with -- difficult.

Relationships take time to build, as well as time to maintain. For those of us who are always in our own heads, making and maintaining relationships isn't always at the top of our priorities.

Even when we want to maintain such friendships, losing track of time and delving into our work can often make it seem as if we're not trying, or as if we don't care.

Spending so much time in your head makes interacting with reality seem less... real.

This one is a bit difficult to put into words. It's like "watching" a movie without paying attention to it -- even when you're trying to.

When you're prone to spending a lot of time in your own head, the outside world begins to almost feel superfluous.

Even when you try to focus on the physical world and the present moment, it can be difficult to feel as if you're actually alive, existing in that moment.

If you meditate and focus, the combination of living within your head and in the world outside it, will allow you to create incredible things.

In all honesty, meditation and focus is a must for every single individual who finds him or herself lost in thought 90 percent of the time.

Meditation will ground you and allow you to feel more as if you are part of what's going on around you.

Taking a few moments to just breathe and close your eyes, or breathe and take in the world is the only way to feel as if you're part of the world, not just watching from the outside in.

It's the only way to keep your mind tidy and the only way to get a clear understanding of the path in life you wish to take.

You see, thinking is great, but you need to have things to think about. You need to actualize your thoughts by pursuing your goals and dreams.

Your mind is a wonderful place, but you should never feel trapped within it. You need to have a clear door from which to enter and exit at will.

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The Torture Is Real: What It's Like To Be Trapped Inside Your Own Head

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One of the biggest issues I've faced, now more than ever before, is keeping myself in touch with the reality outside of me. I feel like this is a common problem in the world we live in today. With all the new technology and ever-growing drive our...

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This article is about how to get out of your head and live in reality. Nothing worked for Aza, but her therapist tried hard to give her ways to not be always in her mind. Although nothing had worked yet, maybe if she tried more methods, she'd be less trapped.

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People get stuck in their heads all the time - some of us more than others. Although it's lovely to ponder life and inquisite about yourself, the problem is that the majority of our thoughts are not so upbeat. When we're in mind-wandering mode (a.k.a., "in your head"), thoughts usually turn to what bills are due, why your partner was a jerk last night, why a coworker took credit for your work today, why you reacted in a particular way to a family member, and so on. And, funnily, at times like this, when we're not focusing on anything in particular, the brain's default mode network (DMN) is "on," which means that the brain literally defaults to this kind of (worry-based) thinking much of the time.

When your mind is wandering in any direction from what you're doing, you're a lot less likely to be feeling happy. One Harvard study a few years ago used a specially designed iPhone app to query people about what they were doing at random times throughout the day, whether they were thinking about that task or not, and how happy/unhappy they were. The verdict was clear, and became the title of the paper: "A wandering mind is an unhappy mind."

So getting out of our heads and back to the present is the key. How to do this has been the subject of psychologists' debates for centuries, and philosophic debate for even longer. Here are tried and true (and science-based) methods to help get you out of your head and back into the present.
1. Get ready to "go there"
This sounds like a way to do exactly the opposite of getting out of your head, but it's not. Getting in touch with your internal stuff allows you to process it, which lets you move on from it. The reality is that most people, especially depending on your generation, grew up with the notion that it's better to hide your feelings than to talk about them. This, of course, is one of the most destructive ideas you to carry with you, because it means that thoughts never get processed - they just spin around your head ad infinitum. But addressing them by talking about them (with friends or better yet, a psychologist) is one way to step out of them.

"From the earliest exchanges between infants and parents, a self grows in relationship with those around them," says Todd Essig, PhD, fellow Forbes contributor and practicing psychologist in NYC. "So too is the case in adulthood. We come to know ourselves in dialogue with others."

And people are starting to talk more openly about their experiences and pain, which is a very good thing. It should be pointed out that medication can absolutely be useful - and life-saving - for some. But if you're not processing your experiences at the same time, then the underlying problems will continue. Even if you can't go to formal therapy, talking about how we feel with close friends helps us process events and emotions in a way that going over and over them in your head simply can't.
2. Be a storyteller, not an ruminator
That said, there's a double-edged sword: The danger of introspecting too much, of course, is that it can easily turn into full-blown rumination - an endless cycle of self-examination and worry that goes nowhere. David Brooks wrote a great piece on this issue last week, pointing out that it's critical that we create a narrative, rather than a cycle of overly-detailed self-inquiry. "When people examine themselves from too close," he writes, "they often end up ruminating or oversimplifying. Rumination is like that middle-of-the-night thinking - when the rest of the world is hidden by darkness and the mind descends into a spiral of endless reaction to itself. People have repetitive thoughts, but don't take action. Depressed ruminators end up making themselves more depressed."

Instead, as he and others have argued, you should think of yourself like a storyteller, trying to fit events into a general framework, rather than pouring over each little piece of information. "Introspection is a closed system," adds Essig. "Patterns of growth only emerge by opening yourself to input from others. Can you imagine doing a search on an iPhone with no network connection? Even the best search strategy, i.e., introspection alone, would be terribly limited. So too with cognition, feeling, and desire."

3. "Be slightly inappropriate"

This may be the best method of all, though it's easier said than done. While it may not be scientifically "proven," you've surely witnessed it in action many times: When someone asks you a question that's a little too personal, you may have noticed that after the initial surprise, it actually feels good to answer it, because it opens the conversation up to another level. The truth is that most of us actually want to be more open and connected with one another, but just don't know how to go about it - it's so ingrained in us not to offend anyone and not to over-share, that we end up being too conservative.

Gretchen Rubin put it well in her article about small talk a few months ago, when she noticed that when people are a little too inquiring, it actually doesn't put others off - it opens them up. "I can't use this strategy, myself," she wrote, "because I don't have the necessary gumption, but my husband is a master. Over and over, I hear him ask a question that seems slightly too prying, or too cheeky, and I feel a wifely annoyance, but then I see that the person to whom he's talking isn't offended-if anything, that person seems intrigued and flattered by his interest."
4. Talk to a stranger
In the same vein, building connections with others - even if you don't actually know them - is another good way to step outside your head, particularly in these days of iPhone isolation. A recent study at the University of Chicago found that when participants were asked to talk to a total stranger on the train or bus, doing so brightened their moods considerably - and even more amazingly, it also brightened the mood of the stranger. Again, this is probably because we really do want to connect with one another more - even with strangers - but just aren't sure if others want to. It turns out they do.

So try overstepping the bounds just a little - not so much as to freak the other person out, but enough to show them that you're up for feeling a little more connected. Or talk to the guy next to you on the bus. It will certainly get you out of your head, not to mention brighten your day, and his.
5. Deactivate the "Me Centers" of your brain by meditating
There's almost no mental practice that has more research behind it than meditation: Studies from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UCLA, Stanford, and UMass, to name a few, are showing the effects of meditation training on brain function and brain structure. But among its more striking benefits, meditation seems to deactivate the "me centers" of the brain, the areas that are active when we're having thoughts related to the self - self-referential thoughts.

In fact, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is an area that's "on" when we're having these thoughts, and meditation has been shown to quiet activity this area of the brain. In fact, experienced meditators' brains were also shown to co-activate areas involved in self-monitoring, suggesting that their brains may always be on the "lookout" for me-centered thoughts, ready to bring them back to the present moment just as fast.

Of course, meditating has also been shown to help treat other related mental health issues, like depression, addiction, anxiety, and attention deficit disorders, as well as to improve concentration, attention, and cognitive performance. So give it a try: Start with sitting, and focusing on your breath for five minutes. If your mind wanders, just observe that wandering, with a sense of curiosity, and pull it back to your focus. That part - the pulling the mind back, again and again - is really the heart of the practice.
6. Focus on someone else
Lots of people have said that helping others is actually a selfish deed because it's such a good way of helping yourself. We know this on an intuitive level, and studies also show it to be true. Last year a study at the University of Exeter Medical School found that people who volunteered their time for various causes were less depressed, and had greater well-being and life satisfaction than people who didn't. (They also lived longer, but that's another story.) Helping others helps you because it forces you get out of your own schtick and focus on something outside yourself. If you're a parent, you know that focusing on another person (even if they're a tiny, demanding one) does a similar thing. But when you actually set out to spend your time on another person or cause, you'll find that it's a very good way to move the focus away from you. Try asking someone who looks down if they need to talk. It'll certainly make them feel better, just to be asked that question. And you'll be the better for it, too.
7. Learn what mindfulness really is
If you still can't seem to hop outside your head, try a few minutes of mindfulness whenever you notice yourself getting stuck there. Although it's become a buzzword over the last few years, mindfulness really is an effective way to introspect productively. If you find yourself spinning a thought around in your head, try to stop and investigate it. (Here's a good how-to on that.) Notice what it feels like, what sparked it (if you can), and how your body feels in response to it. Often, just observing it curiously can make it much less scary.

Many mindfulness experts have said that the most important thing to remember is that thoughts don't have to be believed - they come and go into our heads like clouds, often very randomly. So if you can just acknowledge a thought non-judgmentally and then let it go, you'll be in good shape. The letting-go part is, of course, the hard one, but with practice, it can happen. And then your thoughts lose their power over you.

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So if you find yourself in an endless cycle of rumination, step back and try one of these methods. Talk with a friend or a psychologist; mediate for five minutes; ask another person (or stranger, if you're feeling bold) how they are; share a little (too much?) about yourself; introspect curiously into your thoughts and then try to let them go.

The mind is a pretty cool place - but when it gets to be too much, it's important to know how to take a break from it.

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7 Science-Backed Methods To Get You Out Of Your Head

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People get stuck in their heads all the time - some of us more than others. Although it's lovely to ponder life and inquisite about yourself, the problem is that the majority of our thoughts are not so upbeat.

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John Green wrote, "Anybody can look at you. It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see", and this relates to the quote because it shines light on the pain people go through when everything is only being seen by them in your head. Aza felt different than everyone because of her voices in her mind, only she could hear them, and yet she didn't want to hear them. It wasn't her choice.

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The song says, "You see I'm trapped in my mind.
And I'm going trippy. Oh I don't think I'll ever go. You see the walls are so high. That I couldn't climb them. So I don't know which way to roll," which shows the struggle of being too overwhelmed in your own head. Not being able to get out. That's how Aza feels. She is trapped and can't climb out of her thoughts.

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This song talks about how his mind is playing tricks on him, which is pretty much what goes on in Aza's head. The song says his mind is a home he's trapped in. She believes her thoughts are trapping her from enjoying things in life.

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She has a lot of voices in her head, and this quote points out the fact that she was almost always living in her mind. They consumed her.

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This quote shows the theme of the book because she always is saying she feels trapped. That she couldn't get rid of the thoughts that are forcibly controlling her. She always wanted to get away, yet she couldn't.

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The movie Inside Out shows how thoughts make you do certain things. Aza is completely controlled by her thoughts and it bothers her because she does not feel in control of herself. The book stated, "You will go to the hand sanitizer. Cogito, ergo non sum. Sweating you already have it nothing hurts like this you've already got it stop please God..." which shows her talking to her thoughts as if they were people, thoughts that are making her do things she may not want to.

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This is a picture of a spiral that represents the pathway of her thoughts. She constantly refers to her mind's views as spirals. The author once wrote, “The thing about a spiral is, if you follow it inward, it never actually ends. It just keeps tightening, infinitely”.

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The theme of "Turtles All The Way Down" by John Green is that thoughts can control you. In the story, the main character, Aza, struggles with the depth of her thoughts and she feels as if she is trapped with them. The text states, “I don't control my thoughts, so they're not really mine", which shows that she is managed by these voices in her head and it's something she can't deal with well. She never completely escapes her mind but we get to follow her as she tries.

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This represents the theme of the book because it shows how thoughts may grow out of control. Her thoughts continue to expand and take over her life and sometimes it may feel that her thoughts are never-ending, growing and making new.