Rumination

Brain Science:

Have you ever been so upset about something that has occurred that you can’t get it out of your mind? You keep thinking about whatever it is that is bothering you and you just can’t stop thinking about it. If so you have been experiencing rumination. Unlike worry, which typically involves an endless stream of new concerns, rumination presents nothing new. In the process of dwelling on the same few thoughts, Rumination spells trouble for overall mental health. Sometimes these obsessive thoughts join forces with repetitive behaviors, which become compulsions.

 Rumination may be anchored in the limbic area of the brain, what we call the “emotional part of the Brain.” Located between the executive frontal lobe and the lower reactive part of the brain, the area serves as the relay station between thoughts and reactions. The limbic area helps us to focus, retain memories, and connect with others. Too much energy in the limbic area can cause the mind to loop like a scratched record. This causes someone to obsessively revisit the same thoughts. Focus becomes fixation, and fixation becomes rumination. This often happens when you are overtired, overworked, and over caffeinated. It also seems to occur more often to some personality types- those who work hard and be a little competitive 

Brain Facts:

While everyone grapples with rumination from time to time, some demographics may be more prone to this detrimental pattern of thinking than others.

The statistics on rumination treatments do not exist because current therapies focus on addressing depression or anxiety, rather than the specific symptom of rumination

People prone to ruminating thoughts are at a higher risk for certain mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.  By learning more about rumination and reviewing current rumination statistics, a person can better understand the symptoms and situations affecting their life or the life of a loved one.

·         Some people ruminate often, while others only ruminate occasionally. Since rumination is a symptom of mental health conditions rather than a separate condition of its own, gathering statistics about the prevalence of rumination can be difficult.

·         However, experts do know that women ruminate more often than men, and older people over the age of 62 ruminate less than younger people.

·         To a person who ruminates frequently, rumination becomes a filter through which all life events and situations pass. This distorted view of the world can lead to many unwanted consequences, including:

·         More intense stress

·         Increased depressive symptoms

·         Reduced effectiveness in problem-solving

·         Desire to push away social support

·         Interferences in daily activities like cooking, cleaning and hygiene

·         The mental health conditions most closely related to rumination are depression and anxiety.

·         Other conditions brought on by rumination:

·         Impulsivity and poor attention characteristic of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

·         Racing thoughts and mania common in bipolar disorder

·         Obsessive thinking linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder

So What:

Most high energy people experience rumination. It is the inevitable result of expecting too much of ones self and of others. Letting go of something you are really vested in is extremely hard for high achievers. People who are in high stress jobs in their forties or fifties are especially prone to ruminate over things that appear to be out of their control. Luckily as time goes by we learn to move on more quickly from these negative thoughts. (Or we don’t. and we find careers thwarted, home lives destroyed and positive lives ruined.) It has been found as we learn to cope with that we can not control we are better all around human beings. Those of us at the age we generally are at are not governed by rumination. Our brains have been subjected to difficult challenges and been trained to accept that we can’t always win. Now our children and grandchildren, that is another story.

Here are some strategies that can help with rumination.

 Some of the effective strategies for combating rumination include:

    •    Going for a walk in nature

    •    Setting aside time to plan ways to address sources of stress

    •    Talking to a loved one

    •    Journaling your thoughts

    •    Distract yourself. Look around for something to do. Quickly doing something will keep the issue from looping in the brain.

    •    Make a plan of action. Just don’t keep thinking about the problem do something about it. Take small steps that can get you out of the thinking rut.

    •    Build your self esteem. Pick out something you can do well and just do it. Duck carving does that for me.

If rumination does get out of control; fortunately, treatment approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (Brain Training) can be useful.