What Can You Do In The Fight Against Rumination?

When a person feels depressed, there is a tendency to go over the same negative thoughts over and over again without resolution. Continually revisiting these thoughts doesn’t just fail to solve the problem, but it can also create anxiety. For instance, a person can self-attack by believing that they are “worthless” and then this, in turn, can create new feelings of anxiety which make the problem of tackling rumination worse.

Rumination is fundamentally a negative neural network. The brain is stuck in a rut: a pattern of activity which creates negative thought processes and drains a person of energy. In this article, we’re going to take a look at how to tackle rumination. 

Take a look at some of these ideas to fight it.

---

Switch To A Positive Neural Network

Image Source

The problem with rumination is that the brain is going through a learned process. Each time it retraces its steps, the path becomes more well-worn, and you find it easier to slip back into old thinking habits. The key is to think positive thoughts by switching over to a different neural network - one that focuses on solving problems and coming up with solutions.

It’s worth pointing out that being positive isn’t just about avoiding problems or going somewhere nostalgic in your mind, like a childhood memory. Instead, it’s about focusing on solutions and achieving a positive frame of mind.

Use Music To Change Your Frame Of Mind
People often find that music is a helpful tool for putting them in a better frame of mind. Music has an uncanny ability to transport you to a different place and time, often to before your problems emerge.

For instance, many people have positive experiences of college and university before the challenges of adult life really ramp up. For many people, it can be helpful to listen to the same music that they were listening to while in education to remind them of the good times that they had. Just reliving those events can often change a person’s mood for the better, providing a platform to get on with solutions.

Relive Bodily Sensations
For many people, anxiety isn’t just a mental experience, but something that they feel in their body. And so too is the absence of anxious feelings. Often, therefore, it’s helpful to take yourself back to how your body felt before you began ruminating. Just imagining the feeling can often have profound effects in the here and now, changing how you think in the present moment.

Talk About When Things Turned Out Well

Image Source

Finally, rumination is usually a response to the times in your life when you feel like there’s a problem that you can’t solve or that won’t go away without serious pain. Many people dogged by negative thoughts find it helpful to talk to family and friends about their experiences and discuss the times in their lives when things have turned out okay in the end. Usually, what you’ll find is that most things do turn out okay, and even those that don’t are survivable. ​

---

By Iconic Chica Mag Contributors