In a recent interview with a psychologist, he explained to us that there are many occasions in which patients come to the consultation with a very clear request: ‘What can I do to stop thinking’? It’s that simple and that complex at the same time, because they face a feeling that overwhelms them. confirms it to us Nieves Bailón Morapsychoanalytic psychotherapist at the Center for Studies and Application of Psychoanalysis (CEAP): “On many occasions, patients express the discomfort caused by have recurring thoughts that cause them a lot of suffering and cause them a lot of mental and physical fatigue.”
Thus, the expert explains to us that the feeling of “not being able to stop thinking” is a defense that is activated in the event of certain events and that, in some way, forces the person to focus their attention on a topic and normally entails certain actions to verify or affirm what the thought supports or questions.
Why we think ‘in a loop’
He explains to us that the sensation, in addition, is that thoughts occupy the entire mind, without being able to focus attention on anything else, they trap and They are usually negative thoughtsthat’s why they overwhelm so much.
“When thinking ‘in a loop’, the person is looking for a way out or a solution to something that worries or scares you, the problem is that you do it from a cognitive perspective when what causes the problem is usually emotional,” he details.
And it provides an interesting nuance: overthinking or rumination We could see it as a symptom, a consequence of something that happens to the person, a repressed and unconscious emotional experience, which is why thinking in some way is protecting you because it allows you to focus your attention on thinking and “not feeling.” “The problem is that the very action of not being able to stop thinking has consequences, generates a lot of anxiety and it prevents the person from living their life fully,” he clarifies.
© Getty ImagesThinking too much, bad for your health?
In this situation, we wonder if thinking too much can have negative consequences for our physical and mental health. “From a physiological point of view, overthinking involves intense brain activity that activates our nervous system.” generating substances such as cortisol, which can trigger strong stress and affect the immune system. Arousal is also affected and, therefore, sleep, hindering it,” details the expert.
He tells us that, in addition, they can appear digestive problems (the stomach is considered ‘the second brain’: they are interconnected) and the intense brain activity has an impact on the attention and memory systems that can be collapsed.
And from the mental point of view, it clarifies that thinking too much generates a lot of anxiety and fatigue, which can trigger depression.
“Thinking, which is a human capacity that allows us to live and reflect, when it overflows in excess it becomes a problem for our physical and mental health”, argues the psychologist.
The very action of not being able to stop thinking has consequences, generates a lot of anxiety and prevents the person from living their life fully.
What causes mental rumination to occur?
Mental rumination It has a lot to do with obsessivenessas an attempt to control uncertainty. In the expert’s opinion, what activates it is a defense against something that scares us and that is related to an unconscious emotional experience.
“The recurrent fantasies and repetitive worries that make up mental rumination are psychological responses that the mind uses to not facing or alleviating unconscious emotional sufferingwhich is the real cause of the problem,” he tells us.
Furthermore, we cannot forget that rumination is usually quite constant and changes the topic depending on the event, for example, something happens in the person’s life and rumination appears while thinking about a topic, the cause is not really the specific event. : This only acts as an activator. The cause is the deep emotional experience that is triggered and that it is unconscious, and the defense against that cause that the person cannot control and is afraid of, is overthinking.
How does mental rumination manifest?
One of the characteristics or bases of obsessive thinking is the lack of expression of emotions. “Ruminations are presented as an internal dialogue where the person talks to himself, to another or to something, to whom he asks or accuses, places responsibility, blames, or goes around and around about a specific situation looking for elements, answers or meanings,” he indicates.
Rumination is configured around a question in the form of a search, it is about a generally inflexible and rigid cognitive fixation which is usually accompanied by a feeling of loneliness because the person tends to isolate, to not connect with the environment or with themselves.
“Although they are disruptive thoughts, in the sense that they break internal or interpersonal contact, in therapy they must be welcomed as a creative adaptation to the breaking of the emotional bond. Because only by deeply understanding them and ‘speaking to them kindly’ will the person be able to understand and embrace your own vulnerability while understanding and attending to their emotional and human needs,” he explains.
© Adobe StockWhy do some people tend to ruminate more than others?
We have all ruminated at some point, we have thought about the same thing endlessly. But it is also true that there are people who do it more than others, for what reasons? First of all, it is evident that influences the character of each person. “Perfectionistic, demanding or controlling people will be more susceptible to rumination,” he points out.
And secondly, we also have to take into account the influence of certain traumatic life situations What a person can go through in which fragility or insecurity can generate a lack of adaptation and stimulate the appearance of rumination. An example would be the loss of a loved one.
Perfectionist, demanding or controlling people will be more susceptible to rumination.
Is it difficult to get out of the cycle of mental rumination?
When you reach that point, where you can’t ‘stop thinking’, you have to take action, but it’s not an easy task. “Breaking the cycle is difficult because ruminative thoughts are often intrusivespontaneous and are moved by something unconscious. They tend to be activated in life situations in which there is objective concern about some event and the concern placed on it escapes control,” explains Nieves Bailón Mora.
Emotions are, in his opinion, both a cause and a consequence. “That is to say, the person cannot control his emotions and he represses them unconsciously: rumination arises as a defense mechanism that helps him with this repression and, at the same time, the ruminations generate more discordant emotions such as guilt for not being able to stop thinking about the matter.” explains. And it adds a positive message: getting out of the loop is complicated but possible, normally a process of therapeutic support will be required.
Strategies to get out of mental rumination
For the CEAP psychologist, the strategies are of two types:
- On the one hand, In therapy the person has to be able to tell their experience of rumination and, in alliance with the therapist, delve into listening to what is hidden behind it. In such a way that the fundamental strategy will be the investigation to be able to discover on an emotional level what feelings are not being allowed and what are the emotional functionings almost always learned from childhood.
The exploration of obsessive thinking is essential, the person expresses their feelings and the therapist welcomes them and helps them understand them. By allowing this experience that includes cognitive aspects and the expression of affect, a process of healing will occur through the therapeutic experience. understanding of emotions and the emotional needs of the person, so that the real cause of the discomfort caused by rumination will come to light.
From there, the person will find a new meaning to their “I” and will feel much calmer. When the person understands the reasons and connects with their deep feelings, rumination decreases. - On the other hand, there are cognitive and behavioral techniques that help stop thoughts or keep the mind calm, such as mindfulness, but this only works in a complementary way: it will only work if the person previously develops a process of self-knowledge and connection with themselves to understand where their discomfort comes from. In this process, analysis with a therapist will be essential.