Written By | Health Expert
Rumination means spinning around the same thoughts over and over again—analysing and re-analysing—at the expense of taking action
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Rumination
Rumination is another risk factor that worsens depression. Rumination means spinning around the same thoughts over and over again—analysing and re-analysing—at the expense of taking action. Rumination drives symptoms of anxiety and depression. People who ruminate often struggle with basic activities like sleeping because their minds never stop. They are constantly thinking about their problems and trying to figure out what to do next.
Thinking about problems can be useful, depending on how it is done. However, if you keep analysing without taking action, you will feel worse. If there is a cure for rumination, it is action—but it must be timely and effective. It is not action for the sake of action.
Most things people ruminate about are almost invariably related to relationships. The second most common area is school or work-related issues, but relationships remain the most prominent. Many of these are relationships from the past.
One component of depression is what is known as a past orientation. People often say, “My past controls me. It’s because of these traumas in my past. It’s because of what my parents did. It’s because of what happened to me as a child.” They do not just ruminate about the past; they use the past to predict the future.
They say things like, “I’ll never be happy.” When asked why, they respond, “Because I never have been.” “I’ll never get a good job.” “Why?” “Because I’ve never had one.” “I’ll never have a good relationship.” “Why?” “Because I’ve never had one.” One of the most common beliefs is, “I won’t be happy until my parents treat me better when I was a child.” As long as someone is stuck in this loop, they are not moving forward.
You therefore need to understand this: whatever your history is, you are more than your history. You are more than any single experience or characteristic. You are more than your job, your title, your income, your body size, or how many likes you get on Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media platform. None of these can be the foundation of your identity.
When people are told, “You are a trauma survivor” or “You are an abuse survivor,” it may sound empowering on one level. On another level, it can become limiting, because it defines a person entirely by an unchangeable past. The last thing you want is to define yourself by what cannot be changed. What matters is orientation toward the future—toward possibilities.
There are no guarantees in life, but we can take actions that create possibilities for the future.
The past does not define you. People who recover from depression are usually those who look forward. They let go of the past and focus on where they want to be next. Continually anchoring yourself to loss or tragedy keeps you stuck; growth begins when you redirect your attention toward what lies ahead.
Torch Media Africa
