Rumination: the Annoying Vicious Cycle of Thinking

Although human beings have a good capacity for inventiveness, it is also true that we are not always especially imaginative and spontaneous.

There are some situations that make us more likely to make our mind go through the same familiar routes over and over again, as if we were vinyl. These vicious cycles of thought not only slow down our creativity, but transform everything that over time makes us feel worse.

What in psychology is known as rumination is an example of this.

What is rumination?

Thought rumination is the psychological phenomenon that appears when our focus of attention becomes “hooked” on a real or imaginary element that causes us stress and discomfort. That is to say, a paradox occurs in rumination: something like thought, which by definition is dynamic and constantly changing, becomes almost static and locked in a circuit that makes it move in loops.

Where there is rumination, there is also a person who is incapable of thinking without a good part of the things they experience, whether external stimuli or memories, making them think about their discomfort and the causes of it. By finding so many references to the origin of that feeling of sadness and anxiety, everything to which we direct our attention becomes a trapdoor through which we fall until we return to the place where we were before: the consideration of the things that worry us.

This repetitive process causes more and more experiences that we have linked to stress on previous occasions to accumulate in our memory, with which the variety of references to our discomfort grows over time.

When thought goes on rails

In some way, rumination causes our thinking to adopt an automated and repetitive pattern based on a simple mechanism: all the thoughts that occur to us will be woven together so that they are related to our discomfort In this way, we lose the ability to concentrate and it is more difficult for us to manipulate ideas voluntarily, since all the elements will end up shifting our attention towards a specific experience or a thought that produces negative sensations.

As our thinking is trapped in this loop, it is difficult for us to take initiatives that can serve to discharge this accumulated stress, and this in turn will mean that we do not find stimulating distractions on which we can concentrate.

The outcome of thought rumination

In most cases, at some point the person who experiences rumination of thoughts spends enough time distracted to cause the loop to weaken and stress levels to decrease, but in other cases its persistence is associated with the appearance of the symptoms of depression.

In fact, one of the characteristics of depression is the lack of motivation and the ability to set goals that are not immediate, as well as a sedentary lifestyle, two factors that are also related to rumination

5 ways to break the loop

If instead of waiting for rumination to go away on its own, we prefer to take action on our own, There are some strategies that can help in this regard

The most useful and simple ones to reduce stress levels and free the focus of attention are the following.

1. Sport

Physical exercise is a great help to combat rumination, among other things because, while it makes us release endorphins, it requires us to focus on experiences that occur in real time.

After we get tired exercising, our muscles are not the only ones that begin to recover: neural connections also begin to connect with each other in a new way after having been dedicated for some time to getting closer to the goal of each physical exercise.

2. Mindfulness

Mindfulness has also been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety levels and disengaging attention from sources of stress. Although it is true that even during meditation our thinking does not stop (it does not even while we sleep), during these sessions it takes alternative routes, and keeps us away from self-referential thinking that creates loops of discomfort and stress

Other forms of meditation could also have benefits of this type, but they have not been as scientifically studied.

3. Get used to the walking routine

Something as simple as going for a walk can help you think more spontaneously, in addition to serving to release endorphins and relieve tension. If this is done in natural environments with vegetation and away from noise, the better.

As in nature there is an atmosphere that helps us relax and, at the same time, it is difficult to find direct references to our daily routine and what causes us anxiety, these types of spaces are perfect for disconnecting. During the time we spend in wild environments, our brain learns to function by going off the path set by rumination, and this effect becomes fixed over time.

4. Talk to others about what worries you

Have acces to other points of view about what makes us uncomfortable allows us to stop always thinking about it in the same way. Talking face to face with friends and loved ones in general can help a lot in this sense, among other things because in addition to showing us their ideas about that topic, it allows us to know how they react emotionally to it.

Of course, don’t limit yourself to having a conversation about it with just one person; The key is in the plurality of ways of interpreting what happens to you.

5. Go to psychotherapy

Of course, if you notice that you are not able to move forward and the situation continues to overwhelm you, it is important that you go to psychotherapy In this way, your case will be studied and you will have personalized solutions.