How To Stop Obsessive Thinking: Four Mental Health Strategies To Manage Rumination

Obsessive thoughts are often given an almost cute, quirky nature. In several movies, being neurotic can be charming and even a reason to be loved and cherished. Far from the cute portrayal in these films, however, true neuroses often feels painful, difficult, and overwhelming -- it can cause the person struggling with obsessive thinking immense distress. Let’s explore the causes of obsessive rumination and effective ways to manage obsessive thinking.

What causes obsessive thinking?

Obsessive thinking can be caused by many different factors, ranging from a simple obsessive period in your life to an actual, diagnosed mood disorder, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). An obsessive thought is not easily dismissed and may take up a large amount of space in one’s mind. Some obsessive thoughts are largely benign -- as in an adolescent's fleeting obsession with meeting their favorite band -- while others can be extremely harmful and problematic, as is the case when someone cannot stop thinking about driving off the road on a curvy mountainside path.

Obsessive thinking can be caused by distinct neuroses, such as a phobia. Someone with a fear of illness, for instance, might obsessively think about the possibility of contracting a flesh-eating disease or might obsessively check themselves for symptoms of cancer. Obsessive thinking can also be caused by general anxiety, which may provoke an obsession with being prepared for any eventuality.

Although all these conditions do not need to be present for obsessive thinking to occur, many of them are involved when a harmless obsession tips the scales into a problematic one.

How does obsessive thinking manifest?

There are different ways that obsessive thinking presents, based on the reason for the obsession, the coping mechanisms involved, and the degree of understanding. People who are aware of their tendency toward obsessive thoughts, for instance, see and respond very differently to the presence of intrusive thoughts than people who are unaware of their condition.

In undiagnosed individuals, obsessive (or intrusive) thoughts often present as nagging worries, fears, or images. Someone who does not know that they have a condition involving intrusive thinking might persistently imagine their little sister's head smashing against the floor like a watermelon, despite no interest whatsoever in causing such a fall. Someone else might persistently feel dread when they see a bridge overhead and obsessively imagine the pain of being crushed beneath the weight of a collapsing roadway. Still, others might experience a nagging feeling associated with all thoughts, like a constant needle in their brain.

For some individuals, these symptoms are not significant enough to warrant seeking treatment. However, for others, intrusive thinking can become debilitating and can take up valuable real estate in one’s brain, causing severe anxiety, discomfort, and even panic.

People who are aware of their condition might experience and react to intrusive thinking differently. Because many people who have sought treatment for their thought patterns have been instructed to respond in certain ways to the patterns their brain has developed, they may not notice intrusive thinking as often or intensely as their undiagnosed or untreated peers. In these individuals, intrusive thinking might be fleeting images, feelings, or impressions. They might also manifest as sudden, stabbing fears or anxieties. With treatment, though, intrusive thinking typically begins to lessen and often loses the power it has over those experiencing obsessive thoughts --namely, the power to instill fear, panic, anxiety, and even depression.

How to stop obsessive thinking

Managing obsessive thinking can be a labor-intensive process and does require some commitment. Because you are essentially working on rewiring your brain and adopting new habits, consistency is extremely valuable in any form of treatment. It is usually a deciding factor in whether a treatment works. The techniques below offer four ways to control obsessive thoughts and take back your way of thinking.

Accept your thoughts for what they are

Although forcing your thoughts to pause can be an effective tool, it can also have the opposite effect and create even greater fear or shame when the obsessive thought occurs. Instead, accept your thought. Acknowledge how it affects your body, noticing any discomfort, tightness, or tension you experience when the thought arises. You can even imagine giving it a little wave to acknowledge its presence.

Ground yourself in reality

Taking a few moments to ground yourself, in reality can help ease the anxiety that often arises with an intrusive thought. If you perpetually imagine a sinkhole suddenly opening up below your feet, for instance, close your eyes and take note of your surroundings. Feel the solid ground beneath your feet, smell the freshly cut grass across the road, and notice the sound of cars rushing around the corner. Grounding yourself with your senses can help bring calm amid an intrusive thinking attack.

Write your experiences down

Rumination can lead you to obsessively go over perceived mistakes, losses, and abandoned opportunities. Rather than allowing yourself to obsess over the past in an endless mental loop, take some time to write down what you wish you would have said, what you want to say now, or what you wish would have happened. Writing something down can function as a release valve, of sorts, and although it cannot alter what happened, it can help relieve some of the pain and pressure associated with the event, or provide helpful closure.

Seek help from a mental health professional

Obsessive and intrusive thinking are hallmarks of various mood and personality disorders, and working through them and gaining control over them is often a matter of working through a much broader network of mental health issues to resolve the root of the problem; obsessive thinking is a manifestation of an issue, not the issue itself. Psychologists and psychiatrists can help intervene in intrusive thinking and obsession and can help you create tools to restore your mental health.

Navigating obsessive thinking and other mental health

Treatment for obsession and intrusive thinking usually revolves around cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and other forms of talk therapy. Although some talk therapy focuses on merely processing internal dialogues aloud in a safe space, many talk therapy modalities work to redirect, reprogram, and rewire thought patterns to create healthier coping mechanisms and associations within your neurological processes.

Learning how to stop obsessive thinking through CBT

CBT is the most common treatment method for OCD and similar diagnoses like ROCD, as it offers patients and clinicians a means of not only getting to the root of the problem but also branching out from that root to create a far-reaching net of improved thought patterns and behaviors. CBT can involve many different techniques, including exposure and grounding, which allow you to experience your obsessive thinking in a safe, controlled setting, to lessen the emotional blow associated with those thoughts.

Treatment for obsessive thinking can last from months to over a year, and usually warrants at least one appointment per week. Even in less extreme cases, intrusive thinking can create feelings of deep fear and discomfort. It may have created a massive upswing in anxiety and depressive feelings, as intrusive thinking focuses on the bizarre, violent, or depraved. People may delay treatment for fear of being judged or even incarcerated for "wanting" to carry out these acts.

The effectiveness of CBT for obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions

Regardless of the extremity of the case, though, CBT and other behavioral therapies have shown immense promise and consistent results in treating disorders accompanied by intrusive thinking and can be incredible tools in overcoming the fear, anxiety, and pain that often comes with the presence of obsessive thinking.

Addressing ruminations through therapy

Dissolving obsessive thinking is not a simple matter of willpower and involves essentially relearning how to communicate with yourself and how to process things in your mind. Obsessive thoughts might seem as though they are impulses, desires, or even indications of things to come, but most obsessive thinking exists wholly outside the realm of reason. It involves fear responses triggered by other fears or mental health concerns. 

With regular treatment, most people living with frequent intrusive thinking experience significant healing and lessening of symptoms -- particularly if treatment is engaged early on, consistently, and with the understanding that changing your cognitive processes takes time and dedication.

Therapists are usually involved in the treatment of obsessive thinking. Although there are many things you can do on your own to encourage healing -- such as grounding and giving yourself permission to feel or experience the thoughts at hand -- therapists can dig deeper into the condition and determine what might be the underlying cause of your condition to tease out and heal the actual source of the issue.

Treatment for intrusive thinking can come in many different forms and formats. Some therapies will be finished in a physical office, complete with a comfortable chair and nodding professional with a clipboard. Others will be delivered online, via an internet platform, such as Regain. 

How can online therapy help?

Online therapy can be an invaluable resource, as it allows users to schedule appointments at convenient times and meet with their therapists from preferred locations. If someone has obsessive thoughts related to vehicular travel, for example, they can bypass triggering experiences by engaging in therapy from home. You can even text your therapist directly if you find yourself needing support in a challenging moment.

Many studies have found online therapy to be just as effective as in-person therapy in helping people eliminate obsessive thoughts. In one open trial, 23 participants received a 15-week internet-based CBT intervention with therapeutic support. The goal was to evaluate the intervention’s effect on their symptoms of OCD, depression, anxiety, general functioning, and overall quality of living. Results indicated that online therapy was effective in reducing all of the aforementioned symptoms in a statistically significant manner.

Regardless of the actual delivery method, , most treatment methods will focus on retraining your mind and adopting new habits to ease anxiety, reduce the incidence of intrusive thinking, and create a more comfortable, safe mental environment.

Takeaway

If you have been living with intrusive thoughts for a long time, it is understandable that you may feel frustrated or consumed by them. While OCD is not curable, it can be managed through CBT, a proven way to help reframe negative thought patterns into empowering ones. When you’re ready, you can reach out to a licensed, compassionate online therapist at Regain to start reclaiming your mental processes.