Endless Ruminating

[FauxxTrot]

My mind feels so busy because I get worried about something and it just keeps spinning around in my head sometimes making it to the point of catastrophizing the situation. If I don't get it under control I freeze and just feel paralyzed. I want to learn how to stop it or end the ruminating cycle when I notice it starting.

[Sabbath1]

My mind does that too . For me I just try to do something that makes me like zone out and not think really about it. For me I'm not like artistic or anything lol so I would just zone out with a video game. Cause then my mind just goes to that . For people who aren't into that kind of thing I'd just suggest like find something that you can zone out with that you enjoy, for some it's like art, yoga's , pretty much anything that you can just focus on and zone out with .

For me it's trying to sleep that sucks cause my mind just races and I still haven't found a way to really take my mind off it at that time. Still trying to figure that one out. But through the day when/if possible just find something to zone out with and enjoy .

I'm not even sure if this is good advice but I do find it can be pretty helpful.

[FauxxTrot in reply to Sabbath1]

I love video games too actually. I've heard of people who set alarms for worry free time, like set it and forget it. I'll try setting a zone out alarm to give myself a few hours to play a game and forget the world. Maybe a few hours of not ruminating will be enough to clear my mind a bit. Thanks

Sleeping is like my super power. It's usually my go to way of turning off because it's so easy for me and I know I'm lucky ha. Whenever I do have trouble falling asleep I put on a show with a sleep timer. I always pick something boring/ something I'm not invested in like a nature documentary or actually ancient aliens is a go to haha. Then I close my eyes and listen until I fall asleep. 2nd go to if the TV light is bothering me is story podcasts like Myths and Legends by Jason Weiser

[Hidden]

Hello and welcome to this community! I ruminate to the max as well, and it is agonizing. Here is a post I did several months ago on tips to control these. I hope it helps.

healthunlocked.com/anxiety-...

[FauxxTrot in reply to Hidden]

Thanks that's a great post I love the book title happiness thieves. I've heard someone say ruminating is a terrible waste of imagination. I agree with your post and what you said about needing a solution that's good enough for you, but I definitely find it hard when really there is no good reason. Like if I made a mistake at work and I overanalyze why. The mistake has been made and it's a learning experience, but the letting go is hard

[Hidden in reply to FauxxTrot]

You're welcome. I'm glad it helps! Yes, the letting go is hard. We all make mistakes. We are human ( most of us are, anyway. There's this one lady at my church who is an alien. Shh!! Don't tell her!😂). Seriously though, it's in our mistakes that we show our human-ness.

[betterdayswillcome]

I have the same issue. The Calm app has been great for me. The guided meditations have been big at helping me learn to process. I’m still nowhere near awesome, but I’m not going to the ER every other week anymore either which has been a huge win. Hope you start to feel better soon!

[FauxxTrot in reply to betterdayswillcome]

I love Calm too, and another app I like is Worry Tree . I feel like I never remember to use them when I need them

[JasmineJaz]

Hi FauxxTrot, I think I know what you're saying, and I've been trying a few things to get out of it. The 2 most useful methods for me is to 1. spend some time to write it down, or 2. to take a long walk in nearby neighborhood or park. In general, I find it useful to turn untouchable thoughts into something visible (writing it down, talking to someone about it), or simply distract myself from it (walking, gaming, etc). Not sure how it would work for others, but I'm always open to discussion on that topic ☀️ best of luck to you

[FauxxTrot in reply to JasmineJaz]

Thanks I think those are 2 good things to do to get through it. Now I just need to remember to use my tools! HaI use Worry Tree app to write it down and I almost always learn something about the truth behind the anxiety. Like seeing it in front of me makes it easier to understand

[SayNOtoPanic]

ruminating sucks! Hang in there. Not sure if you’ve ever tried this exercise, but when a thought comes on, specifically an unwanted thought, try a physical movement like snapping your finger or stomping one foot and say stop, then Identify something in your environment and spell it backwards. And identify a couple different objects and spell. It can help cut the pattern of ruminating on that thought and worry. Hugs.

[designguy]

One of the things to realize about our thoughts is that we can't control what pops into our head, we can only control how we react to them. The more we try to control our thoughts the more they happen and it becomes an overwhelming ruminating cycle. It is also a distorted way of trying to be in control and can be exhausting as you know. The old thing about if I tell you don't think about pink elephants is true, the first thing you are going to think about is pink elephants.

Learning and practicing simple mindfulness meditation can be very helpful for realizing that you are not your thoughts and to be able to detach from them and observe them flowing in and out of your mind. It's also a good way to ground yourself and bring you back to the present moment where you are safe.

As humans our mind is predisposed to remembering the negative things in our past and using those to predict the future in order to protect us. When we are able to become aware of our thinking and realize our thoughts are just thoughts and have no power, we then can choose which ones to believe or not believe. It takes time and practice but is a very helpful skill. Ruminating is also a way to create a false sense of control and is an illusion. Once we realize and accept that we really have no control over anything but our next breath and how we react to our thoughts we start to realize the futility of trying to be in control and surrender to the flow of life.

Your ruminating is preventing you from taking action out of fear so one of the most helpful things you can do is do what ever it is that you fear and convince your inner self that it is safe and you are safe. You may also benefit from investigating your subconscious beliefs about yourself, others and life to understand your programming and where it came from and be able to choose what still works for you and what doesn't and reprogram helpful beliefs. There is info on youtube about doing this. I also found it helpful to just write out my thoughts and get them out of my head, not worrying about what it looked like, spelling, etc.. and just kind of draining the brain.

[FauxxTrot in reply to designguy]

Thanks for such a thoughtful post that's all true and very helpful. I do have problems with control I've been struggling with since I had a medical emergency that was scary and completely out of my control. I felt like my body betrayed me and I'm constantly trying to prevent bad things by planning or overanalyzing something that went wrong so it never happens again. I'm also very triggered by embarrassment and it really gets my brain going.I think that's an excellent idea to investigate my subconscious more and understand how my programming has changed. If you remember, what's a good video or way to search that topic?

[designguy in reply to FauxxTrot]

You're welcome, glad to help. I like the book "Drive your own darn bus" by Julia Kristina and her youtube videos, also the youtube videos of Bernadette Logue and the Daily Positive and I also like the writing of Dr. Bernadette Sewell and I did her Break Free program. Those should get you started.