Want to stop ruminating? The first step to take is to understand the factors that may contribute to it, as well as what purpose it serves.
A great article (part two is in a link at the bottom of the article and includes tips). It specifically talks about the persistent thoughts that can either paralyze you into indecision or trigger unwanted emotional reactions. With ADHD, this is usually things that don’t really matter (such as deciding whether to cook dinner or order takeout when you are exhausted.) Alternatively, it might be someone in your friend group behaves towards you in a way that you don’t like but they aren’t willing to acknowledge responsibility for their actions. For me, it can be this perpetual cycle that when I am getting close to seeing this person in a social setting again, The cycle of ADHD rumination on some issue will occupy my thoughts for hours or days before the interaction. For me, I know that it’s my brain trying to figure out a solution to a problem that doesn’t have a solution so it just keeps going around in circles over and over again. It’s frustrating because I feel like I’m going crazy. The above article and the sequel will give some of you some tips and solutions on how to deal with these things. I will add one more: mindfulness.
Now, I happen to be a Muslim so I have to pray five times a day and the prayers are somewhat intricate with specific movements and things that I have to say in another language. This requires concentration. Unsurprisingly, when I pray, this persistent thought tends to go away afterwards or is at least minimized. One reason this is I think is because I tend to devote all of my energy and focus towards the actions of the prayer that I’m doing. I mean, I’m not going to discount the workings of Allah/God here, but doing some thing that requires focus, concentration and also has physical movement can really help pull you out of your own head. It can help stop these thoughts. Other versions of this are aerobics, exercise, bodyweight workouts that you could do wherever you happen to be, intensive yoga routines, or going to the gym. The article accurately reminds you that sometimes the mind isn’t intending to be cruel by bringing something up for the hundredth time, sometimes it’s just bored and need some stimulation and if you give it some other stimulation it won’t mine its memories for some thing to do. I hope this helps.
