Meditation, including mindfulness meditation, is such a thing. After a couple of days on a silent mindfulness retreat of constantly watching your mind (watching

Meditation, including mindfulness meditation, is such a thing. After a couple of days on a silent mindfulness retreat of constantly watching your mind (watching doesn't mean 'thinking') there's a moment when the thinking stops. It's scary at first, because it's such unusual for us, but with time, when you learn how to trigger it at will, you start to appreciate this amazing relief that comes with it. And by the way, your cognitive functions do not weaken - on the contrary, the mind becomes more efficient. I couldn't put it better, you very rightly associate the constant mind chatter with stress - that's one of the main causes.