Challenging Your Rumination

[Daniel E.]

Challenging Your Rumination
by Robert L. Leahy, PhD

• Do you tend to ruminate—to repeat a negative thought over and over in your head?
• How does your rumination make sense to you? What do you hope to gain from ruminating?
• What are the disadvantages of ruminating? Do you notice that it makes you feel anxious or regretful?
• Realize that you can tolerate uncertainty and accept ambivalence—your own and other people's.
• Rumination is a quest to make sense of what's past—but why does the past have to make sense? Would you be better off accepting reality as it is?
• Will rumination solve your problem? Are there other problems you could be solving in the real world instead?
• If you can't turn off your rumination, you can limit it. Set aside five minutes for "rumination time."
• Write down your ruminating thoughts and see how they repeat themselves over and over again.
• Your mind can only be in one place at a time. Shift your attention away from your rumination and onto something else.
• Ask yourself, When I ruminate, what am I missing in life?
• Practice mindful awareness to stand back from your mind, observing thoughts as they come and go.
• When a thought intrudes, don't fight it, but don't follow it. Accept its presence, and go on with your life.

excerpted from: Beat the Blues Before They Beat You: How to Overcome Depression

 

[Daniel E.]

Why Ruminating is Unhealthy and How to Stop | World of Psychology

How To Reduce Rumination

According to Nolen-Hoeksema, there are essentially two steps to stop or minimize rumination.

1. Engage in activities that foster positive thoughts. “You need to engage in activities that can fill your mind with other thoughts, preferably positive thoughts,” she said.

That could be anything from a favorite physical activity to a hobby to meditation to prayer. “The main thing is to get your mind off your ruminations
for a time so they die out and don’t have a grip on your mind,” she advised.

2. Problem-solve. People who ruminate not only replay situations in their head, they also focus on abstract questions, such as, “Why do these things happen to me?” and “What’s wrong with me that I can’t cope?” Nolen-Hoeksema said.

Even if they consider solving the situation, they conclude that “there is nothing they can do about it.”

Instead, when you can think clearly, “identify at least one concrete thing you could do to overcome the problem(s) you are ruminating about.” For instance, if you’re uneasy about a situation at work, commit to calling a close friend so you can brainstorm solutions.

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Related threads:

Behavioral Activation

9 Ways to Shift Your Attention

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/coping-s...bout-a-problem-try-the-focus-shift-trick.html

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http://forum.psychlinks.ca/mindfuln...of-now-six-steps-to-living-in-the-moment.html

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/coping-s...he-brain-5-things-to-keep-me-going-today.html

 

[Daniel E.]

From the article in the second post:

Can't Stop Thinking About Past Mistakes? This May Be Why

These tips may help you learn how to stop ruminating on the past, and why you tend to repeat these negative thoughts.

psychcentral.com

Some ruminators may simply have more stress in their lives which preoccupies them, Nolen-Hoeksema noted. For others, it may be an issue of cognition. “Some people prone to ruminate have basic problems pushing things out of consciousness once they get there,” she said.

Women seem to ruminate more than men, said Nolen-Hoeksema, who’s also author of Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life. Why? Part of the reason is that women tend to be more concerned about their relationships.

As Nolen-Hoeksema observed, “interpersonal relationships are great fuel for rumination,” and ambiguities abound in relationships. “You can never really know what people think of you or whether they will be faithful and true.”

 

[Daniel E.]

How Self-Compassion Beats Rumination

A new study suggests that self-compassion improves mood, largely by helping us avoid negative rumination.

greatergood.berkeley.edu

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Exercise: Self-Compassionate Letter​

Think of an issue you have that tends to make you feel bad about yourself—a mistake, your appearance, etc.

Imagine a friend who is unconditionally wise, loving, and compassionate. Imagine that this friend can see all your strengths and weaknesses, including what you don’t like about yourself.

Write a letter to yourself from the perspective of this imaginary friend, focusing on your perceived inadequacy. What would this friend say to you from a compassionate perspective? How might her suggestions embody care, encouragement, and support?

Now wait. Put the letter down for a little while. Then come back to it and read it again, really letting the words sink in. Feel the compassion as it pours into you, soothing and comforting you.