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Thought Loop

by: Daniel Ha

A thought loop is a term used anecdotally by many online that is commonly described as being trapped thinking the same thought over and over again in a cyclical nature for a period of a few seconds to a few hours. The term is popularly used to describe this experience while on a psychedelic drug[1], though there are also places online where the term "thought loop" is used to describe experiences not on a psychedelic drug.

Existing Theories on Thought Loops

Though no academic literature exists on why thought loops occur, the most popular theory online is found at PsychonautWiki[2], an online encyclopedia project on topics related to psychedelic usage:

"This state of mind is most likely to occur during states of memory suppression in which there is a partial or complete failure of the person's short-term memory. This may suggest that thought loops are the result of cognitive processes becoming unable to sustain themselves for appropriate lengths of time due to a lapse in short-term memory, resulting in the thought process attempting to restart from the beginning only to fall short once again in a perpetual cycle."[3]