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Are
you a ruminating thinker?
By Melissa Martin
Like a dog chasing its own tail—around and around and around—some
individuals can relate to the anxiety loop. They feel anxious. Soon
they feel anxious about feeling anxious which causes even more anxiety.
Are you a chronic worrier? A ruminating ruminator? An obsessive
thinker?
The brain becomes stuck in the chronic worry zone. The body responds
with symptoms of distress: stomach upset, constipation or diarrhea,
restlessness, insomnia, irritability. Panic attacks may be experienced
in crowded places: shaking, sweating, dizziness, breathing rapidly, and
pounding heart. Get me out of here!
Stress, pressure, worry, anxiety, panic. The learning process starts
with understanding that stress is caused not by other people or
external events, but by our reactions to them. Really? Yes. We do live
in an environment and this environment affects us, but why and how do
we react and respond to things that happen at home, at work, and in our
community?
In a 2017 article in Harvard Business Review, Nicholas Petrie asserted
that pressure does not have to turn into stress. And the culprit is
rumination. “Pressure is not stress. But the former is converted to the
latter when you add one ingredient: rumination, the tendency to keep
rethinking past or future events, while attaching negative emotion to
those thoughts…Rumination is ongoing and destructive, diminishing your
health, productivity, and well-being. Chronic worriers show increased
incidence of coronary problems and suppressed immune functioning.
Dwelling on the past or the future also takes us away from the present,
rendering us unable to complete the work currently on our plates.”
Are you a ruminating Ralph? Are you a ruminating Rita? Do obsessive
thoughts get stuck in your brain like a blender buzzing around and
around and around? Ruminators need to know how to stop their thought
cycle before it spirals out of control.
According to the American Psychological Association, some common
reasons for rumination include: a beliefthey're gaining insight by
excessive worrying; have a history of trauma; perceive they face
uncontrollable stressors; or exhibit personality characteristics such
as perfectionism or neuroticism. www.apa.org/.
And repeated feelings about problems can cause and maintain depression.
Rumination can increase a negative mood and intensify symptoms of
depression. Dwelling on dilemmas exhausts brain energy. Will rumination
solve the problem?
How do you stay out of the blender? How do you turn the blender off?
The power to prevent chronic worrying and to intervene when
anxiety-provoking thoughts swirl and twirl is between your ears—the
brain. The human mind manages what happens inside the brain tissue.
Tips to Stop Rumination
Identify your biggest fear. Often, the emotion underneath anxiety is
fear and sometimes it’s a fear of losing something. Are you afraid of
losing a relationship, a job, an important goal? The unknown can be
scarier than reality. After you identify your fear ask a question. Is
it changeable or not changeable?
Identify your triggers. What people, places, or things cause obsessive
worrying? Do you need to avoid or confront?
Interrupt the ruminative thought process with distraction: talk to a
friend, take a walk, or participate in an activity. Pull the plug on
anxiety-provoking thoughts by listening to music or reading a book.
Shift your attention. Physically get up and engage in something else.
What are you missing out on by the time spent ruminating?
Has rumination become a habit? Write out a plan with goals, objectives,
and activities to kick the worry cycle to the curb. “Rumination, I’m
breaking up with you. Obsessive worry, you are not welcome in my
brain.” Get out of your head by interrupting the mental loop of
negative thinking. Change your perspective. How you think about the
problem is not solving the problem. So tap into the logical part of
your brain.
Emotions are part of the human hardware. Just because you feel
it—doesn’t make it so. Feelings can be fickle. Uplift your mood with
prayer or meditation. Or watch a funny video and laugh.
Are you worrying about past mistakes or making future mistakes? Do you
overanalyze situations and conversations? Does worry interrupt your
sleep? If anxious and ruminating thoughts are impairing your daily
functioning, consider counseling. Cognitive behavioral therapy may be
beneficial.
Melissa Martin, Ph.D, is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist.
She resides in Southern Ohio.
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