Advice on how to stop ruminating/obsessing?
Hello, I’ve had issues with anxiety since I can remember but most prominently in the last five to six years when my mental health has been really rough. Although I’m in a much better place now than I was then, I still struggle a lot with controlling my thoughts - so, stopping ruminating or obsessing. For example I’ve just spent three hours obsessing over sleeping positions when I’m supposed to be asleep, looking up the same websites and reading the same info over and over and over again. I do this all the time, o get stuck in loops where I have to do something to feel better (mostly stuff to do with my health so body checking or symptom checking and looking online, even just repeating phrases to myself) but then I just get stuck and have to do it again?? I’ve always been a very obsessive person but this is a problem and it feels like it’ll never go away. Idk if it’s just the anxiety or something else? I don’t know if that makes sense or not but I hate it and I really want to stop. If anyone has any advice or can relate please let me know. Thank you
I don’t know if this will help but here is something you can try. When you feel the need to do something again stop and ask yourself “why?” If you come up with an answer then ask yourself “is this answer reasonable and true/a fact?”or something similar. If that is not enough try to completely stop everything I mean everything stay as still as you can and just breath or tap a beat, feel your heart and focus on it really really focus on it or stare at something and describe it in the most detail as possible. Once you have calmed down or feel a bit better ask the question why? Pretend you are asking someone else why they do it, the answer will most likely not make sense and if you want to after asking why “they” do it if “they” give you an answer why does it make you feel like that or think about that. Sometimes once I’m done the long one the feeling has lessened quite a lot. This won’t work for everyone but does for me. <3
