Effective Ways to Deal with Rumination: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Rumination is essentially “mental problem solving” and shows up as repetitive overthinking about a situation, problem, or thought— it can feel like mental quicksand. While trying to escape, many individuals inadvertently adopt strategies that seem helpful but may perpetuate the cycle. Let's explore common approaches to stopping rumination and why they are ineffective as well as offer some evidence-based alternatives to break free from the  mental loop.

Common, Yet Ineffective Strategies

1. Thought Suppression
   Attempting to force intrusive thoughts out of your mind often backfires. When we suppress a thought, it paradoxically becomes more prominent, known as the “rebound effect.” For instance, trying not to think about an embarrassing moment is a bit like trying to hold a beach ball under the water, it takes effort and energy and once you let go it will pop right back up with even more power.

2. ‘Bad’ Distraction
   Trying to divert your attention to something else for the purpose of not thinking about something else is what we consider ‘bad distraction’— this type of distraction is temporary and leads you to believe that you “have to” distract yourself to control your thinking.  

3. Putting Your Guard Up
   Mentally resisting unwanted thoughts—creating a “defensive wall”—can exhaust your mental energy in the same way standing guard at the entrance of your house to protect you from intruders would be. This method can also make individuals feel as though they’re in a constant battle with their minds.

The Most Effective Way: Allowing Thoughts to Exist

The key to managing rumination lies not in resisting or avoiding thoughts but in understanding what types of mental processes you do have control of and which ones you don’t and then subsequently changing your relationship with them. By allowing thoughts to come and go without engaging with them, you regain control. Here’s how:

1. Understanding Awareness vs. Attention: Thoughts coming into your mind is not something you have control over, however mentally engaging and giving these thoughts your attention, is. Think about it like a math problem, I can look at a math equation and I have no control over my awareness of it being a math question but I can decide whether or not I want to solve it. So when a thought pops into your awareness, try not to ‘solve it’ or engage with it. 

2. Acknowledge the Thought Without Judgment
   Notice the thought and name it: “This is a worry about work,” or “I’m ruminating about a past conversation.” Labelling the thought can create distance from it, by seeing it as a thought that may or may not need our attention can be helpful.

3. Delay Rumination
   Sometimes when stopping rumination feels like too much, I may encourage people to delay it. Say to yourself, I am not going to ruminate about this for the next hour, but I can do it later if it still feels important and see how often you maybe even forget to come back to it. 

4. Reframe Your Perspective
   Recognize rumination as a problem-solving attempt gone awry. Ask yourself: “Is this a problem I can solve by thinking about it”, most problems that do need to be solved require behavioural action not just thinking. 

5. Engage in Grounding Techniques
   Rather than distracting, grounding can keep you anchored in the present moment and more engaged in the world around you rather than feeling ‘lost in your thoughts’. For example, focus on your breathing, notice five things you can see, or feel the texture of an object in your hand, anything happening in your senses is happening in the present. This can help redirect your attention to the here and now without avoiding the thought.

6. Set Time Limits for Problem-Solving
   If the ruminative thoughts are about a genuine concern, dedicate a specific time to think about solutions. This reduces the compulsion to overthink throughout the day.

Why This Works

Breaking free from rumination is a skill that takes time and patience. It also can also feel like its the best way to handle worry thoughts but rumination is like a poison that tries to disguise itself as the antidote, it actually keeps anxiety going but makes you feel like doing it will make it stop. If you find yourself stuck, seeking professional guidance from therapists, like those offered at Lotus Counselling, can provide personalized tools to navigate these challenges.