How to stop rumination?

[Hush92]

It seems to be the one aspect of ptsd I can't beat....I will have a nightmare about the past or sometimes nothing particular happens at all....and then I can't stop ruminating on all the bad things that have happened to me all day. It makes me very depressed and disturbed and I end up eating junk or drinking to cope. I want this to stop but I don't know how. My therapist said to set a timer and stop thinking about it once it went off but that hasn't been working very well. What helped you guys?

 

[Rumors]

Oh yeah... wow... this has been one of the biggest things for me. I ruminate and then I loose my vocabulary and can't even talk about what it is I am ruminating over... Honestly, meditation has helped the most for me but it took a long time before I was able to use it in a manner that helped me not ruminate. It isn't as easy as setting a timer. Your therapist needs to help you learn a skill set to handle the ruminating and if they aren't able to do that, find another one...

 

[Survivor3]

Hi @Hush92 I get really bad rumination aswell. Do you have any hobbies that you can focus on? Or maybe read a book? Anything to stop your mind from ruminating? Take a walk outside maybe. ?

 

[MrMoonlight]

Distractions like @Survivor3 is talkin' about. You could try physically writing down the rumination on paper...with a promise that you will revisit the thought to slove when you are able and then follow through. Saying STOP, envisioning a big STOP sign in your mind. Hope you find something that works for you. Maybe listening to music, getting lost in a movie....hot or cold shower. Often times "action" of some sort is my key.

 

[ladee]

The thing that helps me the most right now is talking about it. What ever I can not get my brain to shut up about, just simply sharing it. That is a lot of what I use my Trauma diary for. And if in a few days the same things come back up, I just share it again.

Hope others share here too to give you a wider choice. It is so crazymaking to not be able to get our brain to shut up!! We all understand. Hope you find something that helps.

 

[Changing4Best]

I wrote it in my journal and then shared it with my therapist. We discussed it that week, and the next. Between that and praying for it to stop, it rarely bothers me now.

 

[Chitoshi]

I do a lot of talking about it. If I'm worried about it and know I'm doing "what if" statements I'll do what my therapist does with me and try to run it out to it's "conclusion" and then go "... then what?" And then ask myself if it is rational. Usually I know when I'm being irrational, but running the catastrophe train off the rails with logic has helped in the past.

 

[Rainman8772]

I go fishing in my kayak or walking in the woods and put headphones on. That’s about all that helps. I find if I occupy myself then it’s harder than focus on those things for long. Like focusing on the cadence of paddling while in the kayak.

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

I ruminate a lot, sometimes about past traumatic experiences that I went through years ago, but also about my future. I often ruminate way too much about where my life is going.

If you think about things way too much, ever try staring at the flame of a candle to get your mind off of unpleasant thoughts?

 

[Gamereign555]

I sometimes can’t stop ruminating either. It’ll be about something that happens then I won’t be able to accept. If I am alone I may talk about it or even shout at the person who is not really there. I am usually working on some thing at the same time.

I associate this process with anger. I can sometimes accept the thoughts as a sign to talk it through with the person, which usually goes well actually.

I sometimes can’t stop however and in hindsight I am being irrational, energy level is through the roof which may compromise sleep and my ability to work. I may end up miss placing items as I walk around lost in the rumination, forgetting what I’m doing.

I have gotten better in recent years with this however. It is vital to stop at dead in its tracks if I can because obviously about 27 comorbid symptoms, illnesses and disorders seem to rear their heads in that cycle.

Honestly , if I were ever caught doing it and somebody walked in the room they would believe they were witnessing somebody insane and they would be right!

if I am lucky and I can’t stop, I will shut down and go into thousand yard stare mode and that will stop me.

Ideally though, I will acknowledge my need to meditate and stop the process. It’s not easy. None of this is easy.