Severe Rumination

Would anyone have advice or reading suggestions for severe rumination? I mean severe as in all day long, starts when I wake up and ends when I go to sleep (and starts right back again if I wake up in the night). I find myself constantly talking to myself. Is this how everyone's brain works? I find it runs non-stop and on very, very rare occasions, I am amazed to realize I hadn't been ruminating and talking to myself (at which point, it starts again of course). I thought I was having intrusive thoughts all day long, but really I'm probably generating them. I'm constantly thinking about my themes/triggers/worries and "on guard" against the next trigger. What's most difficult is that this is my brain on auto-pilot. No level of distraction helps (I'm at an active job most of the day) and this is probably why I've had severe depression (I'm stuck in my head and no matter how hard I try to get out there and do things, I fall back in). The only things that provide temporary relief are speaking out loud to other people (because I find it very difficult to speak to myself in my head at the same time) and reading (but I find it difficult not to get distracted by my thoughts)

Username: TJ2TJ2

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

I read through this Power Point ever few weeks and every time I find something that helps me tremendously: https://www.slideshare.net/IOCDF/jon-hershfield-mind-washing-mastering-the-unique-challenges-of-metal-rituals

Username: WortoWorto

Date posted: 1y ago

Who wrote that? Pretty much all of this described me!

Username: TJ2TJ2

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

@Worto I don’t know who wrote it! It seems like it was created by someone training therapists though. I need to download it and schedule reviews of it in my calendar. Because … damn. 😊

Username: ReadyForImprovementReadyForImpr...

Date posted: 1y ago

@TJ2 It's by the international OCD foundation (IOCDF.org) - the have a lot of resources and book recommendations, as well as OCD specialist listing for various countries. Their site is absolutely worth looking at!

Username: WortoWorto

Date posted: 1y ago

I completely relate. It's like the thought pops in to your mind before your eyes are even open. And then everything seems in some way or another connected to what you're worried about. I too have this. It feels like at least once a minute the 'am I this or am I that' thought pops in on a loop. Worst one is driving. I'm a driver by job - and as you're driving on autopilot most of the time, I feel like it's really hard to get out of my own head. Like you, I also get frustrated when youre preoccupied and you realise you'd spent the last 10-15mins without the thoughts. It's like 'wow omg, I've felt pretty normal for a while' - and then you're straight back into it.

Username: ReadyForImprovementReadyForImpr...

Date posted: 1y ago

Oof. I completely relate. I had a couple of weeks like that and it finally stopped yesterday. That tends to happen to me due to major changes and stress and/or hormonal fluctuations. I don't have a lot of suggestions other than trying to interrupt the rumination over and over again. It's so hard in that state of mind where it's constant, but eventually it gets easier. I'm sorry you're going through this... I know how exhausting it is.

Username: LakeNotFishLakeNotFish

Date posted: 1y ago

I will be trying some ideas from that PowerPoint! I have also found this article (and other articles on Dr. Greenberg’s site) useful https://drmichaeljgreenberg.com/understanding-pure-o-you-are-not-having-intrusive-thoughts-all-day-you-are-ruminating/

Username: KrittyKritty

Date posted: 1y ago

That's good if u can talk about it to people. What about writing out in a notebook what the thoughts are and reading them and trying to see if you can rationalize them. I have done that before and it does help.

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 3y ago

Hi all. By far and away rumination is my biggest compulsion, and I find it feels very automatic. Does anyone have tips who have overcome rumination that has felt automatic in the past? I am guessing its not an all or nothing thing, that even regular people ruminate on occasion but gently bring themselves out of it. I think I'm probably trying to control it too much, which can become an obsession in itself

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

Constant mental compulsions?

Does anyone have any tips for reducing constant mental compulsions and rumination? I am constantly saying sentences/phrases in my head or ruminating so when I am trying to not engage I have to first make the decision to actively stop saying my compulsions in my head but it can feel very all or nothing as for me it’s not when an intrusive thoughts pops up anymore as I am constantly saying them so it feels like I’m either doing all of them or none of them which makes doing the process step by step very difficult. Any advice?

"Pure" OCD

Username: missadventurer

Date posted: 1y ago

Rumination

So I got diagnosed with OCD this past summer. Since then I've been in ERP therapy for my OCD. I'm 24 and it took a long time to figure out that what I had was OCD because a lot of my compulsions are internal. I struggle a lot with rumination, my brain just chewing on the problem to find a definitive answer. My therapist told me to focus on the feelings in my body, to try and be present in my body and not just stuck in my head. But it's really hard because I don't realize I'm ruminating until I've already started and it can be hard to drag myself away from it. I usually just start ruminating about something else related. My question is, does anyone have any tips and tricks to stop ruminating? I read the article by Dr. Michael Greenberg about stopping rumination but it just seemed like his advice was "Just don't ruminate" and it was very stressful.

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