How to Stop Ruminating

Rumination is a mental habit characterized by excessive and repetitive thinking about one’s experiences, emotions, or circumstances. It can be a symptom of various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In this article, we will explore the effects of rumination and provide 12 tips to help you stop ruminating.

The Effects of Rumination

Rumination can have severe consequences on one’s mental and physical health. It can:

• cause depression to become more intense or last longer
• impair your ability to think and process emotions
• cause or worsen anxiety, sleep concerns, and impulsive behaviors
• maintain and worsen stress responses, leading to chronic stress
• increase the risk of inflammation and physical health concerns that result from stress
• increase the risk of substance use disorders

Why People Ruminate

People ruminate for a variety of reasons, including:

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• the belief that by ruminating, they’ll gain insight into their life or a problem
• having a history of emotional or physical trauma
• facing ongoing stressors that they can’t control

12 Tips to Stop Ruminating

Distract Yourself

When you notice you’re starting to ruminate, finding a distraction can break your thought cycle.

For example, you might try:

• calling a friend or family member
• doing chores around your house
• watching a movie
• drawing a picture
• reading a book
• doing some exercise

Plan and Take Action

Instead of repeating the same negative thought over and over again, break down your thoughts into smaller parts and make an action plan for addressing each one.

Write it down on a piece of paper. Be as specific as possible while also staying realistic with your expectations.

After making the plan, take one small step to address the issue. Then, when you’re ready, take the next step.

Work Out What You Can and Can’t Change

Rumination often stems from previous negative experiences. Some of these experiences we cannot change, but we can change how we look at them.

If you didn’t get that job, can you revamp your resume and have another go? If you’ve made a mistake or had a bad experience, can you take steps to stop it happening again?

If you really can’t change something, maybe you don’t need to worry about it.

Change Location

Try spending time in a place where you have been happy before.

Perhaps it’s a place nearby where you can take a walk, drink a coffee, or sit in a park for a while.

Revisit Your Thoughts and Get Some Perspective

We often ruminate when we think we’ve made a mistake, spoken out of turn, or believe we are responsible for something bad that has happened.

If you can put a thought into perspective, you may find it is inaccurate.

If you’ve made a mistake at work, for instance, it might help to:

• consider what effect will your perceived mistake have in reality
• recall when something like this happened before and how it turned out
• take steps to own up and correct the error
• apologize, if appropriate

Readjust Your Life’s Goals

Perfectionism and unrealistic goal setting can lead to a fear or perception of failure, and this can lead to rumination.

Setting unrealistic goals may cause you to worry about why and how you haven’t reached a goal or what you should have done to reach it.

Setting more realistic goals that you’re capable of achieving can reduce the risks of overthinking your own actions.

Work on Enhancing Your Self-Esteem

Many people who ruminate report difficulties with self-esteem. In fact, there may be a link between a lack of self-esteem and a tendency to ruminate, according to some scientists.

Ways of enhancing your self-esteem include reviewing and appreciating your strengths and building on them.

Try Meditation or Deep Breathing

Meditating aims to clear your mind, which means it may help you stop ruminating.

When you find yourself with a repeating loop of thoughts, seek out a quiet space. Sit down, breathe deeply, and focus on your breathing.

Understand Your Triggers

Each time you find yourself ruminating, make a mental note of the situation you’re in.

This includes:

• where you are
• what time of day it is
• who’s with you (if anyone)
• what you’ve been doing
• any triggers that have kicked off the unwanted thoughts

Talk with a Friend

Ruminating thoughts can make you feel isolated. A trusted friend may be able to offer an outside perspective that can help break the cycle.

You might also ask them to help you make a list of actions or events that turned out well in the past. This can help you gain perspective.

Try Therapy

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.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you develop new ways to approach situations. One-to-one counseling can provide an opportunity to dig deeper and address any underlying causes.

Set Your Own Expectations

If we set ourselves targets that are too high, we may never meet them. This can cause us to question our self-worth, and it may lead to negative ruminations, like “I’ll never be good enough.”

It may be time to evaluate what you realistically can do and adjust your own expectations.

Constantly work on building your self-esteem by:

• taking care of yourself
• doing things you enjoy and excel at
• praising yourself for your successes
• forgiving yourself for your mistakes

Conclusion

Rumination is a common mental habit that can have severe consequences on one’s mental and physical health. By understanding why people ruminate and using the 12 tips provided in this article, you can stop ruminating and break the cycle of negative thinking.