How to Stop Ruminating and Free Yourself From Repetitive Thoughts

For some people, these medications may cause side effects such as headaches, nausea, or difficulty sleeping. Psychotherapy can be an effective treatment for adults and children with OCD. Research shows that certain types of psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy and other related therapies , can be as effective as medication for many people. For others, psychotherapy may be most effective when used in combination with medication.

If your ruminating thoughts are taking over your life, you may want to consider therapy. A therapist can help you identify why you’re ruminating and how to address the problems at their core. Direct your attention towards the positives in your life. You learn from both the positives and negatives in life, but for someone who is obsessing you usually focus more on the negative.

For example, are you constantly thinking about the possible worst-case scenario? If so, it may be helpful to remember that situations often turn out better than you think they will. Despite your current thoughts, your feelings are valid. click this link now 메이저놀이터

Treatments for rumination can include counseling, EMDR , and behavioral interventions. There are also prescription drugs one can take to calm obsessive thoughts. Write about your fears and also about what really ends up happening so in the future you can compare the two. This will help to show you how much worse you make the problem by thinking the worst when it doesn’t always happen.

Winch recommends redirecting your attention to something else that requires focus. “”A two to three minute distraction such as a puzzle, memory task, anything that requires concentration can be enough to break the compelling pull ruminative thought,”” he says. “”If we use distraction each time we have the thought, the frequency with which it appears in our mind will diminish, as will its intensity.”” Leaving this state of rumination can be mentally equated with leaving a comfort zone, which can lead to panic due to unfamiliarity. A quick way to assess if the rumination is adaptive or harmful is to ask yourself if the rumination is helping you solve a problem or prepare for a solvable problem? If you’re ruminating about an unsolvable problem or a challenge that doesn’t require immediate attention; the rumination is likely unhelpful and unhealthy.

Immersing yourself in deep thought or pondering over the past, present, or future situations can be a healthy way to sort through problems. It can also help you gain the self-awareness needed to move on from positive and negative life experiences. For Cindy, obsessive compulsive disorder used to dictate most of her life — nowadays, she’s learned how to forgive, rest, and manage her condition.

Rumination can even have you fretting about outlandish notions like alien invasions or zombie uprisings. Giving your ruminating thoughts identities can help you have more power over them. Naming them allows you to be aware they exist, but offers the option of not choosing to give them attention. For example, suppose you ruminate over an upcoming job interview and can’t get self-defeating thoughts out of your mind. Learn why we have intrusive thoughts, when they may become a problem, and how to manage them.

Choose something that won’t bore you, so that you don’t start ruminating again while you are doing it. Putting your thoughts into writing can help declutter that which resides in your head. Some people find it easier to let go of worry once they have transferred it all to a piece of paper.

In that case, consider what aspects of the interview you can control, such as pre-interview prepping or ensuring you are well-rested. Determining what you can do to be proactive in a situation and taking action may help reduce rumination. If you’re experiencing unwanted rumination about something that happened in the past, a scenario that just happened, or an upcoming event or situation, you’re not alone. In reality, many people find themselves stuck in rumination mode occasionally. This article was co-authored by Klare Heston, LCSW. Klare Heston is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker based in Cleveland, Ohio.

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