Have you ever become lost within your own thoughts? Have you ever known that you couldn’t change something, but that thing consumed your mind anyway? We tend to ruminate on negative thoughts, and that rumination prevents us from moving on with our lives.
If something is out of your hands and there is nothing that you can do about it, it deserves freedom from your thoughts, too. At that point we need to stop ruminating on what we cannot change. So, what does it mean to ruminate?
Rumination
Rumination is when we experience a repeating thought or several repeating thoughts that negatively affect our lives. These thoughts are usually upsetting, frustrating, or anxiety-provoking.
People ruminate for several reasons. First, we might ruminate because we hope to find a solution to the problem we are facing. Second, we might ruminate to try to cope with ongoing stress that we feel we cannot control. Lastly, we might ruminate to hold onto something that is now gone, such as a loved one that passed away or a relationship that ended.
Negative Effects of Rumination
Rumination is not a healthy response to stress. There are many negative effects of rumination including the following:
Depression
Ruminating has been found to worsen depression symptoms. One study found that people who ruminate were four times as likely to develop major depressive disorder than those who didn’t ruminate.
Increased Stress Response
Holding onto negative thoughts and repeating them over and over in your mind prolongs your stress response. Rumination leads to feeling stressed for a longer period of time and feeling that stress more intensely.
Impaired Problem Solving
When your mind is constantly ruminating over a specific negative thought, you have less space to think about other matters. Ruminating makes it more difficult to solve problems and make good decisions.
Prevents Moving Forward
Focusing on the past doesn’t allow you to live in the present. When you ruminate, you miss out on what is right in front of you and struggle to change the things that you can actually change.
How to Clear Your Mind
If you’ve found that you tend to ruminate, the good news is that there is something you can do about it. Follow the steps below to free your mind.
Acknowledge Your Feelings
It is important to know that there is a difference between rumination and allowing yourself to feel your emotions. To give yourself freedom of mind, make sure you first acknowledge how you feel about what happened.
Catch Yourself
The next step is to catch yourself when you start to ruminate. When you find yourself repeating thoughts, tell yourself to stop and take a deep breath. Then move on to the next step.
Find a Distraction
Once you’ve stopped yourself, you need to find a distraction. You might engage yourself in a hobby, start another work project, play a game on your phone, do a workout, or play with your pet. It can help to have your distraction planned out ahead of time so you know exactly what to do when you find yourself ruminating.
Flip the Script on Your Negative Thoughts
If distracting yourself doesn’t work, another strategy is to flood your mind with positive thoughts instead. You could practice affirmations or think about the things you are grateful for. This fills the real estate of your mind and keeps the negative thoughts at bay.
Ruminating is a problematic practice that is all too common. However, you don’t have to let rumination control your life. If you find yourself ruminating, remember “If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too.”
