Am I ruminating when I try to manage my anxiety this way?

Is this rumination?

I lately noticed that when I'm feeling anxious, I start telling myself: "Let the thoughts be there, just concentrate on what you're doing, do nothing to make it go away". The problem is that I keep repeating this dialogue in my mind, and I'm checking if I'm still very anxious or not. I think it's a compulsion but... how do I stop it? I get lost in the process 😵‍💫

Username: Anonymous Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 38w ago

Don’t check to see if you’re anxious. If you feel the anxiety then just breath and say “this feeling will pass soon”. And then continue with your day, I try to repeat to myself “maybe maybe not” or any other RPM to myself through out the day to try to engrave it in my head

Username: A23A23

Date posted: 38w ago

It could be, i cant really say for sure - interestingly there is even Meta OCD so OCD about what is and is not OCD. I think of acceptance of uncertainty and professional help is key

Username: r.m.1r.m.1

Date posted: 38w ago

Observe, describe and then participate in whatever task you’re doing! If you’re trying not to focus on something, then you’re going to end up doing just that. Distract yourself by putting all your mental energy into the task at hand and your anxiety will subside

Username: Iwanttobreakfree🦋Iwanttobreak...

Date posted: 38w ago

Thank you, I'll try! It's very hard especially during lessons at university, it's like listening to the professor and to my thoughts at the same time, it's kind of exhausting :')

Username: vickyy

Date posted: 5y ago

I started to tell myself “leave it alone” every time I got a thought to remind myself not to engage and just leave it there but now I say it in my head when I anticipate a thought or even think about my situation at all. I’m kind of saying it to myself a lot now and I think it might have turned into a compulsion on accident but I’m not sure?

Username: lilye

Date posted: 5y ago

Lately I’ve had a pretty weird coping mechanism, whenever I feel overwhelmed by the anxiety my intrusive thoughts bring me, I’m imagining myself in therapy with my psychologist. She’s not even speaking or anything, I’m the only one having a monologue on how I feel about those thoughts. Is this a compulsion? Or I am just compensating for something, or even just a very imaginative person tbh?

"Pure" OCD

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 2y ago

ERP question

So I’m starting therapy this week but I’ve been trying to use ERP myself, my main compulsion is rumination which I wasn’t even aware was a compulsion. I’m trying to do ERP but when I focus on observing the thought it goes, I dunno if I’m focusing too much on actually how to follow ERP or is this normal? I feel like I might be subconsciously blocking thoughts because I know how bad it is when I go down the rabbit hole, but then I also worry that the anxiety goes too quickly and that I’m finding it too easy to ignore the thought?

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Am I ruminating when I try to manage my anxiety this way?

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