lf5

Date posted: 7w

Tips for rumination with real event?

I've been doing well the past month in cutting down on compulsions and have been feeling better however, last night I had a set back that carried on into today. I had gotten very poor sleep (4ish hours) and then something triggered my memory. I think with the sudden anxiety spike and lack of sleep I didn't have the strength to ignore my compulsions. Last night and today I've realised I've gone back into rumination and mentally reviewing the event excessively again and comparing my situation to other people's, but most of the times that I start going down these rabbit holes I don't even realise I'm doing it? Also been fixating a bit on the fear that I've ruined my progress and that I will fall back into the deep end of it all again, that I have done so much work getting myself out of, although trying my best to not be too discouraged. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with rumination more specifically?

slippery_salad

Date posted: 7w

Sit with the anxious or guilty feelings directly. Embrace the feeling and notice where it shows up on your body

lf5

Date posted: 7w

Thank you for your response, it's definitely something im trying to tackle, but once the guilt kicks in, I at times find it impossible to ignore which I'm trying to work on

slippery_salad

Date posted: 7w

@lf5 Yeah guilt is the hard part. All of my other themes ended in anxiety. But I feel like guilt is heavy and it induces more anxiety than normal. Its a weird like firey feeling all across your body. But like I said, with guilt even, sit with it and let it disperse through your body. Eventually you’ll find it in yourself to forgive yourself and move on

lf5

Date posted: 7w

@slippery_salad I can definitely deal with it a lot better than I used to now and I've been close to the points of forgiving myself, but some days it does get really hard. I do have hope I'll be able to pull through it eventually though, I appreciate your response : )

slippery_salad

Date posted: 7w

@lf5 I notice that when I sit with the guilt and let it subside, all Im left with is the thought. And then the OCD is like a bad guy tryna shoot you with a nerf gun haha. It just doesn’t hit hard anymore. Then youll get to the stage where Im at, where your mind just ruminates all day. I don’t have like big rushes of guilt or anxiety anymore, just a mind that tries to run

Iceberg Climber

Date posted: 7w

My absolute best advice for rumination is to go do something. When I get stuck in deep, unceasing rumination, the only thing that helps is to literally fill my time up with meaningful actions (not compulsions of course). My favorite is to read a book. Something about reading makes it nearly impossible for me to ruminate since I have to pay attention to the words (when I watch a movie, for example, I can sometimes still ruminate while watching). It will be hard. Your thoughts will keep popping back up. That's fine. Expect it. Gently redirect your mind back to what you are doing. As many times as it takes. Over and over again. It will get easier the more you do it. This will likely make you anxious. Sit with that anxiety. Ignore it. Don't let it stop you from doing your action. Keep going as best you can. As for your concerns, I assure you that this is not a permanent setback. It comes in waves. This will pass in time. You've just got to keep at it and keep doing what you are supposed to. I'm sorry you are going through this. You are not your thoughts! You are stronger than you think!

slippery_salad

Date posted: 7w

@Iceberg Climber This is a beautiful response

lf5

Date posted: 7w

Thank you for this response it's very helpful. Honestly a big reason I've had this moment is because I've had a pretty uneventful week so my mind has been on complete free roam, but I'm going to try and find more things to engage myself so I dont fall into the rumination as much. I appreciate it

digginahole

Date posted: 7w

For me, I treat my mind like a stage. As hard as it can be, I can put what I want up there. Some thoughts try to butt in, but if you exert focus on external stimuli, it’s like you start to push away the thoughts from the stage. You’re taking the audience away, so your mind doesn’t hold onto that thought as much.

lf5

Date posted: 7w

Thank you, this is a useful perspective. I'm going on holiday next week so I'm hoping with the business of it I'll be able to work with this

Anonymous

Date posted: 7w

I struggle with this too. I agree with trying to identify the FEELING you’re having. If it’s guilt, sit with that, acknowledge you feel guilty. It’s okay to feel guilty. Don’t run from the feeling. helps it pass to really feel whatever you’re feeling And then followed up with the “maybe I am a horrible person (insert shrug)” or whatever phrase teaches your brain ambivalence.

lf5

Date posted: 7w

I guess the problem I have is that I feel like i have to engage with the thoughts to fully feel the guilt so im still trying to learn the boundaries of just being able to sit with the feelings without engaging (if that makes any sense)

lf5

Date posted: 7w

@lf5 But that also might just be my brain telling me that

toristjean

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 7w

I was stuck in a horrible cycle of rumination about a month ago. What truly helped me was continuing to do the things I love to do while also acknowledging the discomfort I was in. I would use response prevention by stating "my compulsion to ruminate does not protect me" and I found that it helped after practicing it repeatedly.

lf5

Date posted: 7w

Thank you for this response, today has been better and it is what im trying to do but as I'm sure you know some days it feels impossible

Hi_1

Date posted: 15w

Advice?

I’ve been stuck in this cycle for the last month or two and am not sure how to get out of it. Basically, I will work on ignoring the thoughts and not responding or engaging plus limiting/completely eliminating compulsions. After a week or two of constant work, the amount of intrusive thoughts in a day goes down. The anxiety each thought causes also goes down with some, but not all, thoughts passing without notice like they would for a normal person. The thoughts that do stick cause anxiety and make me want to ruminate or do other compulsions but I make sure to limit them. After a bit, I’m in a pretty good head space. This is usually when it goes down hill. I’ll start to question if I even have ocd because some of the thoughts (once again not all) pass without notice. The difficulty resisting compulsions goes down and so does the anxiety, only increasing the questioning. I spend a while questioning if I’ve ever had ocd in the first place and then something sets me off or the questioning itself becomes a trigger and I get stuck back into the same ocd cycle with constant rumination, anxiety, and other compulsions. This lasts for a week or two before I know I need to stop and try and work hard to get back to ignoring the thoughts. And the cycle just restarts over and over again. Does anyone have any tips to stop this from happening? It’s really harming my recovery as every few weeks I dive back into the same negative place I was.

kitchensink234

Date posted: 13w

Advice please!

I have really started to take control of my compulsions and im starting to string together better days! Still not great days or even good, but they are better!!! I have controlled my outward compulsions (googling, research, reassurance, checking) the past couple of days and felt the positive impact of that. But unfortunately, I am realizing that the rumination is still constant. My sexuality and relationship are the only two things constantly on my brain, and if they aren’t I freak out and wonder why im not thinking about them! Anyone have any advice on how to deal with the rumination. Sometimes I don’t even notice im doing it, but it’s taking up 90% of my day. Once I start to tackle this I think I may make some real big progress! Hope everyone is fighting today! ❤️

RavenRose77

Date posted: 11w

Ruminating Help

I ruminated too much this morning and got distressing mental images (and confirmation) which sent me spiraling again. How do I stop thinking about this and how do I get back to myself? I feel destroyed.

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Tips for rumination with real event?

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