While cows spend 7 to 10 hours daily ruminating for healthy digestion, excessive human rumination leads to psychological distress. Constantly replaying negative events amplifies them, triggering anxiety loops and associated emotions like worry, sadness, or anger. In many cases, there is a false association where the ruminator believes their success is due to excessive worry and self-punishing rumination rather than in spite of it.
RUMINATION GONE ARWY -CASE EXAMPLE WITH THE CHILL TECHNIQUE
Helen, a high-achieving marketing professional, was renowned for her creative prowess and strategic genius. Despite her meticulous planning, Helen’s campaign failed to meet its goals, resulting in a significant drop in sales and client dissatisfaction. This setback reignited her fears and anxieties, reminiscent of past academic pressures. She felt like she was walking a tightrope, her mind replaying every perceived misstep, which eroded her confidence further. Nonetheless, the thought loop was a ritual she felt she needed to do to maintain her performance. Like many high achievers, Helen’s rumination was fueled by perfectionism, the belief that if she analyzed the situation long enough she could prevent future mistakes.
For Helen and people who suffer from rumination, the Chill Technique along with therapy may help:
C- Check, H- Help -I – Investigate L- Lovingly – L- Let Go
Check – The first step is to check to see if you are replaying an event incessantly whether in the past or future. Are you anxious, guilty, or filled with self-contempt? Are you internally preoccupied and unable to engage fully with others? How does your body feel? Is it tense?
Helen’s mind was replaying her mistakes and analyzing pieces of the past putting her actions under a harsh microscope. The feeling tone matched other times she perceived doom in college and in childhood. Her physiological arousal and trance-like focus, inability to stay present, alerted her that she was in a ruminative cycle.
Help: Once Helen identified her rumination cycle, the next step was to determine its utility. Helen ruminates and is self-critical because she believes doing so is beneficial. However, with reflection and ongoing therapy, she discovered that rumination was mostly unproductive. Reviewing situations once or twice or three times may be beneficial. However, at some point, there is no return on investment, and acceptance that one’s locus of control is limited is most adaptive.
Investigate: Are beliefs about self-worth or self-confidence driving the thought loop? Does the worried loop represent an insecure part of oneself? By constantly thinking over situations, Helen’s worried part when activated, aims to avoid future mistakes and prevent failure. Helen was able to link this part of herself to her fragile relationship with her father whom she felt provided her with conditional love and emotionally withdrew if her grades were poor.
Lovingly: Be compassionate towards yourself as you acknowledge and appreciate your anxiety even when it is a false alarm. For Helen, learning to appreciate her ruminations protective intent, and desire to be helpful softened her emotional intensity. This appreciation allowed her to nurture, be kinder, and be more self-compassionate when she does make a perceived mistake.
Letting Go – Recognize you’re not your anxiety or thoughts. Take away what’s helpful and let the rest go. Helen was able to let go of the rumination cycle recognizing she is not her anxiety. She continues to learn that her sensitivity to punishment is a ghost from the past that she can make peace with.
Below is an infographic summarizing the key points. I hope this helps.
Dr. Michael Brustein is a licensed NYC psychologist specializing in anxiety and depression therapy for high-achieving professionals in New York City. Using an integrative approach that combines psychoanalytic insight with practical strategies, he helps executives and professionals understand the hidden costs of constant worry and perfectionism. His practice focuses on helping clients move from symptom management to deep, lasting transformation. Schedule a consultation today.