Obsessing and ruminating are often part of living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). No matter how hard you try to ignore them, those negative thoughts just keep coming back, replaying themselves in an infinite loop.
First, remember because of your ADHD working memory challenges your brain has a limited capacity to hold and process information in the moment. And, according to Dr. Parker, because you are not able to hold and consider multiple ideas at once, you may engage in counterproductive excessive thinking — rumination.
Rumination is one of the co-occurring symptoms found both in anxiety disorders and depression. It is often a primary symptom in Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. When people are depressed, the themes of rumination are typically about being inadequate or worthless.
ADHD medication can help children and adults with ADHD approach their challenges and symptoms with more ease, one of which may be ruminating thoughts. So, medication for ADHD may aid with negative thought patterns, and help you get things back on track.
It's when your thoughts get caught in a loop, and you go over and over the same thoughts without feeling better or finding a resolution. Your thinking might get stuck on day to day worries or on future events.
Many people with ADHD express frustration with the frequency and depth of negative and intrusive thoughts. These thoughts can be painful, and they may grow and grow until they affect daily life.
The condition has long been known to occur in infants and people with developmental disabilities. It's now clear that the condition isn't related to age, as it can occur in children, teens and adults. Rumination syndrome is more likely to occur in people with anxiety, depression or other psychiatric disorders.
The main symptom of rumination disorder is the frequent and effortless regurgitation of food, which usually happens 15–30 minutes after eating. People may also experience: a feeling of pressure or the need to belch beforehand. nausea.
If you are struggling with ruminating on intrusive thoughts, exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy can teach you how to stop engaging with the thoughts causing your distress. You will learn how to sit with uncomfortable feelings and resist the urge to do compulsions.
For some people, ruminating thoughts are a way to control anxiety. It may mean you're replaying life events in an attempt to make sure that next time, you're prepared and won't feel as anxious. Repeating entire conversations in your head is a type of rumination. It's how your mind attempts to self-soothe.
People with ADHD tend to experience life more intensely than others. This means that even if you're hyper-focusing on a certain task or assignment in front of you, you can still have many other thoughts and ideas coursing through your brain. It can feel like there's always a lot going on, which may become overwhelming.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been found to be highly comorbid in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Some have proposed, however, that obsessive anxiety may cause inattention and executive dysfunction, leading to inappropriate ADHD diagnoses in those with OCD.
According to the American Psychological Association, some common reasons for rumination include: belief that by ruminating, you'll gain insight into your life or a problem. having a history of emotional or physical trauma. facing ongoing stressors that can't be controlled.
Treatment for Rumination OCD
All types of OCD can be treated with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), specifically with treatment approaches called Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
Take a Break
Whatever you do, the point is to shift your attention from whatever it is you were working on to something completely different. This helps untangle your brain and gives it some down time to rejuvenate. After the break, go back to your project and pick up where you left off.
Find a way to distract yourself. Call a friend -- and talk about anything but the thoughts troubling you. Exercise, tackle some chores, work on a puzzle, watch a movie, or spend time in nature. A 2014 study found that after a 90-minute nature walk, people reported fewer symptoms of rumination.
Rumination disorder most often starts after age 3 months, following a period of normal digestion. It occurs in infants and is rare in children and teenagers. The cause is often unknown.
Rumination is an involuntary engagement strategy and is not a coping style because it is not voluntary.
Many different mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may involve ruminating thoughts. However, in some cases, rumination may just occur in the wake of a specific traumatic event, such as a failed relationship.
Rumination syndrome is a rare problem. However, it may be underdiagnosed because it is mistaken for another problem. Although still rare, rumination is being diagnosed more often in both children and adults. Experts think this may be happening because healthcare providers are now able to spot the problem.
Fact: Everyone ruminates.
Rumination is extremely common. Everyone has experienced ruminating thoughts at some time in their lives. It's normal to have positive and negative ruminations.
Overthinking can be an all-natural process, it can also be the result if the creative and overly active ADHD brain. While most believe overthinking to be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder, it' actually relates more to ADHD.
Examples of temporary rumination can be: Continually worrying about an upcoming test. Reliving an important conversation. Thinking about a meaningful event that happened in the past.
OCD and ADHD can sometimes look alike. These two conditions can have similar symptoms such as inattention and cause similar problems at school or work. They're also associated with: anxiety.