Rumination

Anyone have any recommendations for ruminating thoughts? I’m no longer bothered by pain, but rumination seems to have a death grip on me lately.

-Daniel

 

Go back to the SEP and find the writing exercises that start with making lists, and do that. Clear your mind with free writing every night, and end by writing down just one thing you are grateful for. Do it again in the morning if you wake up ruminating.

 

Two other things I can think of that can help are related. Claire Weeks talks about ways to calm a busy mind, or simply thoughts. Rumination is just another form of overthinking. Anxiety.
Her advice is to try and let these thoughts flow by, without getting into their story. It’s another form of letting go (as is the writing @JanAtheCPA mentions.
If you like to meditate, Insite timer has a few meditations I enjoy that remind me to disengage from thoughts and to just let them pass while focusing on the breath.

 

Thanks Jan. Haven’t done journaling much and not sure what SEP is, but I’ll check it out! Thanks!

 

Thank you. Yeah, today I let myself feel the anxiety sensations with openness and curiosity. The fear of what the thoughts caused, faded a bit. Then I realized if I could lose the fear of pain like I have done in the past and again very recently, I can lose the fear of anxiety sensations. I can ever lose the fear of thoughts. Sending myself messages of safety and positivity helps as well. I’ll keep you all posted.

 

The SEP is our Structured Educational Program, on the main wiki! Maybe you did another program, like Dr Schubiner, Dr. Hanscom, or Alan Gordon's recovery program here on the forum, but if not, start with the SEP and check it out. It gets into specific writing techniques pretty quickly. That being said, it sounds like you're doing well. But you might make even more progress with some structured guidance to help you go deeper into your repressed emotions - rumination is a sign of unresolved issues.

 

Ditto!

In addition, systematic and prolonged physical exercise, especially if done as a meditative activity.