There will always be times when we can’t stop playing an event over in our heads. However, the process of a single thought playing over and over can often lead to negativity or sadness. This process is called rumination.
This habit can come with side effects, which we’ll explain in this post. This post will also explain how to stop ruminating and replaying events in your mind.
What is Rumination?
Rumination is the process of continually thinking the same sad or dark thoughts. Rumination can be inherently bad for your mental health. This is because it may prolong or intensify depression, as well as potentially damage your ability to think and deal with emotions effectively. As a result of this, you may isolate yourself and push your loved ones away.
What Causes You To Replay Thoughts?
According to the American Psychology Association, the main reasons for our brain to continuously replay thoughts include:
- The belief is that replaying thoughts will help you gain insight into your life or problem.
- A history of trauma, particularly physical or emotional.
- A life filled with stressful triggers that are out of your control.
How Do We Stop Ruminating Thoughts?
There are many ways that you can help yourself stop obsessing over the same negative thought or emotions. It’s important that we recognize when we are doing it so that we can actively pull ourselves out and think more positively.
It’s necessary to stop the cycle so that these thoughts don’t snowball and lead us into a dark place. Some of these processes include:
- This is a great way to break the cycle of thoughts. If you can, distract yourself either with a friend or family member, doing chores, or picking a movie to watch. There are plenty of ways to get yourself out of this headspace, so be patient with yourself and try your best.
- Question your thoughts. Often we repeat these thought cycles when we think we’ve done something wrong or if a traumatic event has happened to us. We may feel responsible for this trauma, so it’s important to put these feelings into perspective. Learning what’s accurate and what isn’t in our minds is a powerful way to take action.
- Enhance your self-esteem. Many people with ruminating thoughts also struggle with low self-esteem. By actively working on this we may be able to stop having these cycles. This is because we recognize not everything is our fault when our self-esteem is higher: our sense of self-worth is better which means we can differentiate between actual events and what our minds are telling us.
- Meditate and practice mindfulness. These two processes can help bring our minds back to the present moment. When our thoughts are racing and our brains keep repeating the same thought, it might be useful to practice mindfulness meditation to bring us back and ground us again. Use the Reflect Orb to help with this and understand your stress triggers. The orb is a biofeedback device that measures your physiological signals and reflects them back to you, helping you learn how to control your daily stress.
There are many ways that you can help your rumination cycle, but we believe these three will be the most useful in terms of breaking the current thought and encouraging new patterns. Your mind is a powerful tool, but it’s up to you to control its power.
Help break your own habits for the better, and you’ll find yourself happier, more motivated, and ready to take on new challenges.
