7 Ways to Help You Conquer Ruminating Thoughts
Rumination is defined as obsessively thinking about something ( could be an idea, problem, or scenario) that interferes with day to day mental functioning. Typically, these thoughts are excessive and are thoughts that you wish you could turn off. Rumination often is referred to as a “silent” mental health concern because the impact is often misjudged, and at first, may not seem as large as the impacts of other mental health issues. For many, it goes unnoticed as it cannot be seen physically.
When ruminating becomes very frequent, it can be harmful to your mental health. The repetitive and unwanted thoughts that flood your mind can impair your ability to think and process your emotions. So, how do we turn these thoughts off? How do we make them stop before it is too late?
If you want to talk to someone about these ruminating thoughts and what steps to take, feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation for anxiety therapy.
1. Distraction
Distraction can help to provide temporary relief from the distress you are facing. Give yourself options and choices of things that you like that come easy to you! That may be listening to music, calling a family member or friend, taking a walk, or reading a book.
2. Come up with worry time and set a time limit
Set a schedule for your rumination daily to trick your brain into losing enthusiasm for your worrying. When the worry period is over, you can focus your attention on whatever else you need to be doing. Oftentimes, when we have a pre-planned time to worry we don’t even worry as much as we thought we might.
3. Name and challenge your thoughts
Ask yourself “Is this a helpful thought?” How is ruminating about this serving you? This can help you create some distance from the thought.
4. Meditation
Another helpful tool to help you deal with rumination is meditation. Meditation helps us to develop a nonjudgmental awareness about our thinking by quieting the mind. This allows you to tap into your intuition and focus all your attention on energy and breathing giving you more clarity in your life.
5. Lean into your thoughts
Many times we worry just to worry. We worry about things that cannot necessarily be solved. When you find yourself trapped in this thinking pattern, accept that they are just thoughts. Thoughts are not commands. It doesn’t mean you have to take action on them.
6. Thank your mind
Telling your mind “Thanks for your feedback,” or “Thank you for this thought” when having unwanted and challenging thoughts. The goal is to change your relationship and your thoughts so you don’t fear them as much.
7. Repeating the Thought in a Different Voice
Use a silly voice when repeating the thoughts out loud (could be an animated character from a tv show) or sing your thoughts to the song happy birthday. Notice how it affects you differently as you stop taking the thought so seriously.
If you cannot get the intrusive thoughts out of your head and you want help dealing with this, you may want to consider therapy. Therapy can teach you new ways of thinking and behaving to address the ruminating, as well as help identify why you are ruminating!
For more information on anxiety therapy, or to schedule a consultation, you can contact me by clicking here.
