So I feel like we’re most often told to obviously not engage with the rumination’s, but then we’re also told to accept our thoughts!! So I’m getting pretty confused, the two seem opposite.. any words welcomed. I’m hoping this isn’t my ocd trying to ‘figure something out’ haha <3
It’s your OCD trying to figure it out 😉 But I’ll answer simply, because it’s fairly simple. You can absolutely accept the thought—as in just letting it be present without fighting or arguing or giving into it—without ruminating. Ruminating is you engaging in it. Don’t engage, just let it be.
For me, it's a strange balance between the two I have to find. It's not that you ignore or push the ruminating thoughts away; you accept them and continue moving forward. I think it is easy to get caught in the trap of repressing or avoiding or fighting the thoughts on one end, and on the other end, engaging with the thoughts and feeding them. The path is down the middle for me. I almost think of myself as a silent observer; simply looking at my thoughts and allowing them to flow without engaging with them. Hope this helps!