Rumination How obsessive thinking impacts depression and anxiety

Rumination How obsessive thinking impacts depression and anxietyRumination How obsessive thinking impacts depression and anxietySome people knowrumination- the repetition of the same thought in your head over and over - asobsessive thinking, and for those who experience it, ruminating can be a frustrating state.Thinking over and over about a missed opportunity, an ex, or when you misspoke - its bad enough to live through a negative experience once without beating yourself up in an unvirtuous mental loop. While it can often be beneficial to allow yourself the time and space to think about things that are important, too much of a good thing might actually be a bad thing. And when it comes to dealing with issues like depression or anxiety, allowing too much time to ruminate could keep you stuck in a mental rut.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraRumination is associated with depress ion, writes clinical psychologist Dr. Suma Chand for theAnxiety and Depression Association of America. Research shows that people who ruminate are more likely to develop depression compared to those who dont. Maybe up to four times more likely, she says.This goes the otzu sich way as well ACanadian studyconducted among college students found that those who experienced higher levels of anxiety or depression already tended to engage in more ruminative behaviors. Anotherstudy in Chinafound similar results among the elderly population. Rumination, it turns out, becomes a vicious double-edged sword.What Does Rumination Look Like?Everyone at one time or another may feel like theyre obsessing over some idea or thought. The difference between a healthy amount of thinking about a topic, versus harmful rumination, is the end result. For example, if you find yourself thinking about a particular problem in order to come up with the best solution, youre probably not ruminating. But if the thing on your mind has no solution, or may not be in your control, then you might want to ask yourself if youre ruminating.Depending on whether youre experiencing depression, anxiety, or another mental health issue, rumination can take varying forms. One of my clients describes her anxious worrying as catastrophic thoughts. She often begins with a fairly benign thought, such as This traffic is going to make me late to work. This becomes Im a horrible employee who cant even show up on time, which turns into Im definitely going to get fired from my job. For the rest of the week shes sweating over a small, common mistake that wasnt her fault.One of the things I find hard to articulate to people is that if I keep bringing something up or making jokes about it, thats an indication Im ruminating about it, writes Alexis Schuster forThe Mighty. Im guilty of the same tell in my own ruminations. I find all sorts of creative ways to discuss the thing I cant stop thinking about, from joking about it to asking rhetorical questions to asking others if theyve ever had similar thoughts.ThenI start obsessing over whether Im annoying everyone with my ruminations.It can feel lonely to be stuck in your head with your thoughts sometimes letting them out is the only way to feel like youre releasing the tension thats building, to feel like youre not the only one bearing the heavy load. However, once you let out some of the steam, its likely going to build up again. Thats when its time for a better solution.How to Keep Rumination at BayRumination can be a problem because it rarely offers new insights or solutions on how to handle a situation, Jodee Virgo writes forThe Everygirl. Instead it emotionally hijacks us and intensifies our negative feelings, essentially, making us prisoners to our own thoughts, she continues.Even if you tend to get stuck in a cycle of rumination, youre not doomed to ruminate forever There are luckily a number of ways to prevent or stop rumination. First, simple th ings like mindfulness, or paying attention to the here-and-now, keeps your mind present and free of repetitive preoccupations. To start being more mindful,Talkspace therapist Dr. Ben Epsteinrecommends regular yoga or meditation, which can be practiced from the comfort of your home.Second, you may want to examine your thought patterns - are these thoughts based in reality, or are theycognitive distortions? Are you ruminating on something thats out of your control? If so, think about whether dwelling on it is helping the matter or whether its just keeping you worked up. Even if your rumination is based in reality, think about the worst that could happen. Could you handle that scenario? I bet you could.You can alsoschedule your anxiety- give yourself a few minutes to worry and ruminate. When times up, itstime to move on.Finally, if rumination is impacting your ability to function, or harming your quality of life,talking to a therapistcan give you an objective point of view and guidey ou towards a calmer, less worried mind. Dont you think you owe it to yourself?This article originally appeared on Talkspace.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people