Rumination: How To Stop Ruminating And Obsessive Thinking

„I think i think too much.“

Doesn‘t sound so bad, but when used to describe a mental health condition – it is one of the unhealthiest thought habits around. Rumination is when you think obsessively about a certain topic that gets you nowhere.

„Rumination: A deep or considered thought about sonething.“

You take negative thoughts or situations and repeat them over and over again in your mind. It is obsessive thinking on the worst level and it will lead to anxiety and depression or make those conditions worse.

Here are some tips on how to stop ruminating and obsessive thinking.

Thought Control

„We can‘t control our thoughts“ – a true statement that was never such a lie. I agree that we can‘t always control our thoughts and sometimes anxiety or depressive thoughts seem to come out of nowhere. But i like to think of thoughts like a river. Imagine you‘re standing at a river, the water, in this case, represents your thoughts. You can‘t control the water this is coming down from the river because you‘re standing at the bottom of it. These are the thoughts you can‘t control, the ones that just come to you.

But while you‘re standing at the bottom, you can contro the water that comes down to you. You can get a bucket to collect sone water or you can build little barriers to control where the water goes.

The goal isn‘t to stop negative or ruminating thoughts from happening. It‘s to learn how to control and cope with them once they arrive. This is the first step in the healing process and then eventually the ruminating thoughts will lessen.

Don‘t Believe Your Brain

Just because you think it, doesn‘t make it true.

Write that down. Put it somewhere that you‘ll see every single day.

We live i a reality that is shaped mostly by our minds and sometimes what feels real to us just doesn‘t ring true for the outside world.

I personally suffer from social anxiety and the fears connecting with people. I am afraid that i‘m not good enough, that i‘m awkward, that i don‘t say the right things at the right time. I fear people, and it makes me depressed and anxious.

Is the reality in my head reflecting the reality in the real world? No – it‘s the total opposite.

When you‘re ruminating about negative aspects of your personality, don‘t believe the thoughts. I know it sounds petty but this is the bare bones basis of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a scientifically proven way to cure depression.

Not believing your negative thoughts might sound simple, but sometimes simple is all we need. Want a healthy brain? Don‘t believe your thoughts.

Action Stops Fear

This one works for ruminating thoughts that are tied to the future. Thoughts that are based on anxiety or worrying about a future event.

When we are feeling anxious, we are often fearing or dreading something that is coming up in the furure.

I know it can be hard but if you can, try to pinpoint the fear that is behind your anxious thoughts.

The more action you take, the less fear you will feel. The rumination will also lessen because your brain is focused on thinking of solutions rather than dwelling on the problem.

Control Plan

A great way for how to stop ruminating is to make a control plan. A control plan is a list of things that you either can or cannot control. This is a great way to get some perspective on the ruminating thoughts you might be experiencing. After you‘ve done this, you will have a list of things in the can control category – focus on those! Those are the things that will get you results. You can work on those and take action. Remember.. Action. Stops. Fear.

The control category must be made of things that you can directly control. This means you can see results as soon as you start taking action on them. Focusing on things you can change tomorrow is how you make an effective control plan and how to stop ruminating about things you can‘t control.

Bring Yourself To The Present

This is helpful for ruminating thoughts that are about dwelling on the past. People who ruminate and think obsessively about things will often relive past situations in their heads.

Let‘s use a little bit of logic to help us with this..

If you were embarassed by something you did, thinking about it again doesn‘t change what happened. It only makes you feel embarassed again.. and again and again.

Now the event that happened no longer exists, it only exists in your mind when you‘re thinking about it, and in the mind of someone else if they are thinking about it. Take yourself out of reliving the moment by using mindfulness. Bring yourself to the present.

Close your eyes and think about your environment. Listen to the traffic. Listen to the rain. Feel the chair that you‘re sitting on. Focus on your breathing. When you bring yourself to the present, you move forward from the past.

Exercise

One of the simplest ways for how to stop ruminating is to exercise regularly. I don‘t really enjoy going to the gym or „working out“ so i find that doing physical activities are a lot more fun and keep my mind occupied. It allows me to stop thinking about any troubles i might be having because i need to put a lot of focus on the task at hand.

The key here is to get your body moving so that you can reap the benefits of the pleasure hormones that get released when you work out. Use those endorphins to your advantage..

Self Care

As always, a solid self-care routine will work wonders for your mental health. Remember that self-care can include yoga, mindfulness, meditation, relaxing baths and other „cliche“ activities but self-care doesn‘t stop there. Self-care is anything that makes you feel relaxed and take your mind off things.

Learn More About Rumination

The topic of rumination and how to help solve it is complicated and in depth, but it‘s something that you should learn about if you suffer from this problem.

„Overthinking may ruin happiness and opportunity, and it can create unneeded anxiety. You‘re overthinking so much because you want to control the outcomes. The only thing you can control is your effort and your attitude – that‘s it. Alternative: Tell yourself you deserve it and then take the necessary actions so you can earn it.

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