How to Stop Overthinking: Understanding and Overcoming Rumination
Perseverative Cognition, also known as “Rumination” is what many mean when they describe overthinking. Our thoughts take on a mild to moderately obsessive quality and we find ourselves “stuck” thinking about the same thing over-and-over again. Our mind replays the greatest hits from our past, simulates social relationships, or becomes increasingly self-conscious. When overthinking is undesirable, it is a common pathway to both depression and anxiety.
What is Rumination?
When you have a problem to solve, your brain has determined a very simple solution. THINK ABOUT IT. Your brain turns your attention to the problem under the assumption that solving it requires prolonged consideration. Life is full of problems to solve, and many of these can be solved merely by putting more time and effort into devising a solution.
This works out very well when problems are relatively concrete problems with reasonably predictable rules. A Rubix cube is a puzzle that can be solved. The rules of the puzzle are simple, but coming to a solution requires so many steps that it is complicated. Anyone can solve a Rubix cube if they have enough time and effort to fiddle with the puzzle.
Your brain knows that it’s only a matter of time!
