Rumination is a thinking style that causes people to repeat the same thoughts over and over again. It's normal to ruminate sometimes about some things. But chronic rumination could be a sign of an underlying mental health condition like anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
What is rumination? When people ruminate, they overthink or obsess about situations or life events. 'The process of dwelling on past events that can't be changed is called rumination,' says Eék. 'Some people are more likely to experience this than others, especially if they have an anxiety-prone personality.
What Is Rumination? This not-so-fun cycle of thoughts is called rumination. Basically, they're repetitive thoughts that our minds can't seem to stop obsessing over. Unfortunately, they can be ROUGH for our mental well-being. You might call them racing thoughts, or feel like you're always in your own head.
However, if you find yourself dealing with unwanted, violent, disturbing, or bizarre thoughts on a regular basis, you may be dealing with a serious mental health issue. The two most common diagnoses associated with intrusive thoughts are anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Anxiety can be so overwhelming to the brain it alters a person's sense of reality. People experience distorted reality in several ways. Distorted reality is most common during panic attacks, though may occur with other types of anxiety. It is also often referred to as “derealization.”
It's absolutely amazing the power our thoughts have over our minds. It's simple: our mind believes what we tell it. Many of us don't comprehend the inherent power of our thoughts and feelings.
Everyone has thoughts that are upsetting or strange, and that do not make a lot of sense, from time to time. This is normal. In fact several well-conducted studies have discovered that close to 100% of the general population has intrusive and disturbing thoughts, images or ideas.
It's normal to think about sex — often or only once in a while. As we go through puberty, hormones affect our bodies and emotions in new ways. This makes us curious about sex, and more likely to have sexual thoughts and feelings.
Losing your mind may be experienced as extreme confusion, distress and/or dissociation from oneself. It may be so overwhelming that it leads to anxiety and panic attacks. You are not alone in feeling this way, and to answer the question again; it is highly unlikely that you're losing your mind.
Overthinking is commonly associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Duke. GAD is characterized by the tendency to worry excessively about several things. “Someone can develop GAD due to their genes.
They're called “intrusive thoughts” and nearly everyone has them from time to time. They can range from random images to disturbing and violent ideas like punching someone in the face or hurting yourself.
Intrusive thoughts are often triggered by stress or anxiety. They may also be a short-term problem brought on by biological factors, such as hormone shifts. For example, a woman might experience an uptick in intrusive thoughts after the birth of a child.
Overthinking is caused due to various reasons like fear, intolerance to uncertainty, trauma, or perfectionism. Overthinking can also be a symptom of already existing mental health conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or depression.
What drives this is underlying anxiety. Common forms include worrying, perfectionism, struggle with making decisions, and excessive control over yourself and others. Keys to coping include getting your rational brain online, using your gut reactions as important information, and taking acceptable risks.
Is being negative a symptom of depression? Yes, but the opposite is also true – depression leads to negative thinking. Someone suffering from clinical depression, for example, may struggle to find the energy to get out of bed in the morning, even on a good day.
Ignoring symptoms of OCD will not cause them to disappear, and they're not going to just go away. That's not the way OCD works. In fact, ignoring symptoms, telling yourself that you're not really that bad and you can manage the disorder by trying self-help for OCD will only exacerbate the situation.
People with False Memory OCD experience frequent doubts about things that have happened to them and can become convinced they've done something wrong despite there being no evidence these memories are accurate.
The human brain has a natural tendency to give weight to (and remember) negative experiences or interactions more than positive ones—they stand out more. Psychologists refer to this as negativity bias. “Our brains are wired to scout for the bad stuff” and fixate on the threat, says psychologist and author Rick Hanson.
Your brain knows the difference between what you wanted to do, and what you actually did. It is smarter than you. Now a wonderful recent study published in Science has shown us where the brain computes the difference between what you did and what it wanted you to do.
Lying Changes the Brain
Nature Neuroscience reported a study of the amygdala, the part of the brain dealing with emotional responses. The researchers said the amygdala shows up less and less, as we lie more and more. Essentially, our guilt feelings tend to weaken and shrink.
Anxious Thoughts
People with anxiety often have thought patterns such as: Believing the worst will happen. Persistent worry. All-or-nothing thinking.
Severe and chronic anxiety can make a person feel like they are “going crazy” or losing control. Those with anxiety typically have not lost touch with reality, but may be struggling with reality. Different types of anxiety cause different types of “crazy” feelings, so knowing your anxiety type matters.
When we are more susceptible to stress, depression, or anxiety, our brains may be playing tricks on us. A cycle of continuing to look for what is wrong makes it easier to find what is wrong out there. It's called a confirmation bias.