How to get rid of obsessive thoughts

In human society there is such a thing as mental chewing gum or chewing gum for the brain. What does this mean? In essence, this expression can be called what our thoughts, intellect, and our gray matter are attracted to. We kind of get stuck on this thing. For example, mental chewing gum includes TV series, entertainment shows on TV, YouTube channels of some authors, computer games, crosswords and much more. Also, the essence of the expression chewing gum for the brain can be interpreted as an activity that does not bring any real benefit. By the way, scientifically it is called rumination.

It's good if what you're stuck on brings you benefits. But in most cases, mental chewing gum does not provide any benefit. Time is wasted, vision deteriorates, headaches hurt, the brain becomes foggy, laziness and apathy appear.

The main thing is to stop sticking in time and realize that this will not lead you to your goal. If you have a goal, of course. Just the next time you get stuck on something, ask yourself: “Will this lead me to my goal?” And if not, stop sticking and the mental chewing gum will go away.

Mental chewing gum is when one obsessive thought is spinning in your head that you just can’t get rid of. Only one thing will help here - redirection ! To do this you need to train your mind. Concentrating on one subject for several minutes every day. The time needs to be increased every day. When you concentrate, try to get away from those thoughts that intrude and try to distract you.

How to get rid of mental gum with awareness?

In this section we will talk about getting rid of mental gum. If you cannot escape some disturbing thought, then this section is for you.

Here are the main 4 pillars on which the entire fight against this disease is based:

1. Awareness.
2. Concentration of attention.
3. Adoption.

Step #1

Understand how much do you think? Imagine that you have decided to try one of the diets. By prohibiting yourself from eating a lot of foods at once, you will only do harm and will also blame yourself for the failures you have had. In this regard, you need to initially rewrite what you eat during the week. And remove some products from this list.

To defeat mental chewing gum (mental), first of all, find it in yourself. Write down thoughts related to the situations that generate them. For example, if you were scolded at work, then the thought may arise that you are worthless, that you are not good for anything. In general, during the week, write down the situations and thoughts that they cause. Then look at everything with a healthy eye. In the end, it will come to you whether you like this arrangement of things or not.

Step #2

Now try to train your attention without a pen and a piece of paper. Find a flow of thoughts in your head. Record, realize what prompted you to this particular mental chewing gum. Understand what you are thinking . If you realize that you are thinking and focused on this, and not on the fact that it seems to you that you are a failure, then this is already good. The mental cud will gradually begin to melt away. In this step, simply notice what you are thinking. To help, you can tell yourself: “Stop, breathe and notice.”

Step #3

Through the above steps you can change your mental digestion. Beginners may not be able to turn off the mental flow quickly, but over time you will be able to do it. Everything needs training. In the third step, learn to switch your attention with the help of crosswords, math problems, listing movie titles, knitting. In short, keep your brain busy with computational processes. Scientists' data suggests that only 2 minutes are enough to get away from thoughts of self-flagellation.

Step #4

It will take time to get the effect. Try to do what is given in the above steps regularly. If you have been living with your mental gum for a long time, it will take a long time to eliminate it. Train, this is the only way you will build up your muscles of awareness and attention. Here, just like in sports, each time it becomes easier to overcome the next obstacle.

In this fourth step you must know " acceptance ."

It takes self-compassion and real curiosity about your inner self. This is the best thing for your self-esteem. Understand that you love yourself, which means you can be loved. Accept yourself for who you really are!

What is “mental gum” and how to get rid of it?

Modern psychologists are increasingly faced with the problem of “mental chewing gum.”

Already from the name itself it is clear that we are talking about sticky, viscous, addictive thoughts. The so-called obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) includes the presence of obsessive thoughts, obsessive states, and obsessive internal dialogue. Thus, this problem is an obsessive-compulsive disorder. This mental illness causes the constant occurrence of the same information in a person’s head, which can cause behavior and actions that are uncharacteristic for a person.

To get rid of obsessive thoughts, some people come up with a certain ritual for themselves, for example, solving mathematical problems, remembering car license plates, counting the number of windows, and saying special stop phrases. Everyone may have their own methods of dealing with “mental gum.”

Very often, such means of protecting against obsessive thoughts themselves quickly turn into obsession.

Thus, the disease only becomes more complicated, since the methods of protection themselves remind of the problem, strengthening it. But in some cases, this method of combating OCD can still help in the short term.

Among the main reasons for the appearance and development of an obsessive state is the habit of mentally communicating with oneself. Such dialogues usually occur automatically regarding any exciting old or new situation. The second reason is attachment to a belief, as well as deep faith in it. Obsessive internal communication is common to many people, but most often they simply do not notice it, considering it the norm.

Having become a habit, such dialogue begins to concern all ordinary daily events.

This problem is more acute with questions that have been worrying people for a long time. Constant monotonous, restless internal dialogue causes severe fatigue. Over time, even fear of one’s own thoughts appears, which only complicates the problem.

A person becomes dependent on an obsessive feeling. He begins to suffer from insomnia, VSD, and feelings of increased anxiety.

Obsessive thoughts arise against a person’s will. Their main feature is monotony.

A stream of obsessive thoughts absorbs all attention, so the events that happen around them become almost unnoticeable.

Such thoughts are irrational and highly emotional. They are most often associated with fear, resentment, anger, doubt, and guilt. Thus, their main basis is strong emotions.

Obtrusive signals are created by nature in order to automatically remind and concentrate a person’s attention on something important.

For example, you took out a loan, but you currently don’t have the money to repay it. In this case, obsessive thoughts will remind you of the loan, stimulating you to find a way out of the current situation.

The most popular causes of obsessive behavior are thoughts about material wealth, career growth, improving living conditions, and personal life.

An obsessive state is dangerous to human health. It indicates the occurrence of mental disorders.

It should be remembered that the body needs regular proper rest.

Otherwise, chronic fatigue, mental disorders, increased anxiety, neurosis, and obsessiveness may occur.

Thus, regardless of the importance and usefulness of your activity, it is necessary to take long breaks, rest physically, emotionally and mentally.

Why do obsessive thoughts of an anxious nature arise? Most likely, some stupid thought somehow came into your head. It was necessary to stop her by saying: “what kind of crazy thoughts are arising in my head.” But in this situation you gave it great importance, got scared, and began to analyze it.

Obsessive thoughts can also arise regarding everyday things. For example, did I turn off the water, the iron, or close the door.

How to get rid of OCD on your own?

Remember that you cannot unconditionally believe all your thoughts. They are only a part of you.

Therefore, everything that arises in your head can be edited, sensibly assessed, condemned and even ignored.

Thus, the main way to combat an obsessive state is the ability to separate yourself from your thoughts.

You cannot resist obsessive thoughts and try to forget them. This way you will save a lot of the energy that you would normally spend fighting them.

If you notice that a thought comes to you every day, it bothers you, but your internal dialogue does not help solve the problem, try to simply ignore it. Look at these thoughts from the outside, do not start a dialogue with them, do not plunge into them.

If some obsession is justified, it points you to a real problem, remember that any problem must be solved by actions, not by thoughts.
02.06.2016 18:48

A couple more tips on how to remove mental gum

1. Do something interesting. Direct your thoughts to work, to your activities.
2. Find the good aspect of a bad thought. Perhaps you can benefit from a situation that had a negative impact on you. As soon as you find this plus, immediately cling to it. And gradually you will come out of these thoughts.
3. Show indifference. Just ignore unnecessary thoughts.
4. Use meditation and relaxation when dealing with mental gum.
5. Take a break from your hobby. If you notice that you are thinking about the wrong things, start doing what you love.
6. Share your experiences with a loved one. When a person talks about his difficulties to another person, it becomes easier for him. Just talk it out, you’ll see you’ll feel better!

In this way, mental gum can be easily removed from your brain. The main thing is not to forget about regular training.

We will be very grateful if you share it on social networks!

Best regards, project administration

Today the topic of the article is mental chewing gum. The concept has synonyms: mental chewing gum, mental chewing gum, obsessive thoughts, rumination. In the colloquial part of the Russian language, chewing gum is chewing gum. The concept of “chewing gum” is found in the animal world, when it comes, for example, to cows. When an artiodactyl grazes in a green meadow, it intensively nibbles the grass and throws it into its stomach until it is full. Later, the cow will lie down comfortably and begin to digest the food - chew, returning it to the mouth from the stomach, chewing thoroughly, driving it from one part of the mouth to another.

There is also a metaphor - chewing gum - used in a figurative sense in the case when someone in speech tediously and monotonously repeats the same thing.

People have mental chewing gum - thoughts that arise on their own, most often related to a past situation in which the owner of the thoughts there and then could not speak out, could not show the interlocutor that he felt strong feelings: anger, fear, anxiety, resentment. For him, the story seems to have not ended, so he plays it over and over in his mind. There is a mental replay of the case. And such thoughts do not lead to choice, resolution of the situation, or action.

What can be classified as unfinished situations? Reflections about who looked at you, who thinks what about you, conflict situations with parents, spouse, son, daughter, mother-in-law, mother-in-law, other relatives, boss, colleague, stranger in a public place who answered incorrectly.

Most often, in the mental space, a person scolds himself for how he behaved with others, what he said, how he responded. He continues to think about the situation in his mind, figuring out how he could parry his opponent’s remark, how he could show himself as a person who would not go into his pocket for a word. It is clear that the mental repetition of a story, phrases, answers, remarks, both your own and your interlocutor’s, again and again revives strong feelings - anger, resentment, fear. It turns out that history is in the past, and feelings and associated bodily sensations: heartbeat, trembling, muscle tension, are felt NOW.

Moreover, it happens that in the mental plane, dialogue and feelings intensify: excitement grows, indignation and anxiety intensify. A person in his mind tries to prove that he is right and continues to argue with an imaginary opponent. It’s impossible to free yourself from dialogue, switch to other thoughts, or calm down. Attempts to use willpower do not help. I can’t tell myself: “Don’t think about it!” It is clear that a person with obsessive thoughts does not feel free. He becomes a slave to mental chewing gum.

A person torments himself, scolds, criticizes for words, behavior, asks himself for the hundredth time why he said that, acted that way. He is not happy with himself in history.

Mental chewing gum is energy-consuming, deprives a person of strength and energy, and instead of health, weakness and fatigue appear.

The difficulty lies in the fact that a person is not able to get rid of mental gum with the help of volitional effort. The same type of thoughts appear again and again, which causes a feeling of irritation, anger and impotence, helplessness.

Why do obsessive thoughts occur?

The reason is the emergence of strong emotions, the inability to express them, suppression. Suppressed emotions do not dissolve. To be lived, they encourage the emergence of a controversial dialogue, or rather its continuation in the mind.

As I wrote above, mental chewing is the chewing of past information. However, there is also an appeal to the future, when a person imagines a future conversation, negotiations, meeting with a boss, with an unsympathetic relative; He also begins to conduct an internal dialogue, plans what he will say, how his interlocutor will answer him, how they will both “get excited.” In general, he's screwing himself up. This dialogue does not yet exist in reality, they are not reality, but fantasies, and unpleasant strong feelings are already here and now. There is no strength from this either. In general, negatively charged stories are provocateurs of mental chewing gum. Although chewing on a positive story can also be: replaying a successful joke, phrase, remark, remark, question: “It’s great that I said such and such.”

There is also verbal chewing gum, when a person participating in a controversial dialogue in a raised voice begins to tell everyone what happened. Sometimes those around you are not enough. He can call friends and acquaintances to tell the story again and again, it is so charged with emotions. In this case, the person tries to find support, help, confirmation from his social circle that he is right in the scene.

The incompleteness of the situation, the unanswered question, the silence of one side, unfinished, unsaid things can provoke rumination. The way out is to clarify, talk, finish, speak out, complete.

Thoughts distilled in the mind are mechanical. There are no deep thoughts in them, they are not connected, they do not lead to understanding, awareness.

More often, rumination occurs in people with certain character traits:

• hyper-responsibility,
• self-criticism,
• tendency to criticize others
• suspiciousness,
• anxiety,
• impotence,
• perfectionism,
• hypochondria,
• cyberchondria,
• straightness,
• diligence,
• pessimism,
• discontent,
• rigidity.

People who tend to chew information are confident in how things should be in a given situation, they love rules and follow them.

Mental chewing gum: how to get rid of it

1. Understand that you are not the only one susceptible to mental chewing gum. Any person can have it. Most likely, you’ve had this experience when you heard a trendy song on the radio in the morning, and then remembered a couple of lines all day long, thinking: “Well, I’m hooked!”
2. From a past or future dialogue, it is worth returning to the here and now.
3. Move from thinking to perception. Thinking and perception cannot coexist together at the same time: each is active separately. If you relax your thinking, it will be easier to perceive where you are, what objects surround you, what they feel like, what color they are, what kind of sounds are around you. Finding answers to these questions will help you separate yourself from thinking on the past and future plane, and return to the PRESENT MOMENT.
4. If you forbid yourself to catch obsessive thoughts, then, as luck would have it, they become more active. A paradoxical technique is to force yourself to think again and again about an unpleasant, emotionally charged story. Think for about 10 minutes. Obsessive thoughts will either reduce activity or disappear.
5. Do an exercise: write down the story on paper by hand (do not print), describe details, thoughts, feelings, complete what was left unsaid, identify unlived emotions in the situation.
6. To make the situation make sense, reflect on your mistakes, weaknesses, and successful remarks. Answer yourself the question: what did this incident teach you?
7. You can also shift your attention from rumination to a specific action: making tea, setting the table.
8. It will help someone to understand that there are two sides to a dialogue: each contributes to its course and outcome. Try to extract meaning from what happened, analyze the story, objectively see yourself and your interlocutor in it.
9. Realize that it is impossible to control everything: you cannot control another person, his words, emotions, you cannot change him. Understanding this thought can help reduce the intensity of rumination.
10. If possible, complete the dialogue with that person, find the appropriate words, put a REAL point on the topic.

A few words about point No. 3. When a person thinks, reflects, “chases” obsessive thoughts, he seems to be immersed in himself, does not notice where he is, what is happening around him. This is how the mind and thinking work. Perception seems to cancel the mental stirrer, turn off criticality, the person returns to the place where he is, to the time he lives - the present.

This knowledge is actively used by the organizers of pyramids in reality. Leaders organize numerous meetings, play loud rhythmic music, chant, applaud, shout out joint slogans in unison, and take each other’s hands. Thus, a newcomer who first attends a meeting of participants in a financial pyramid switches to perception (what is happening here and now, hearing, vision, movements, tactile sensations in the form of touches, taste are involved - a newcomer can be treated to something tasty), and a switch off of thinking. A person is massively attacked through all channels of perception. As a result, a newcomer can lose serious amounts of money. Be careful!

Obsessive thoughts are a bad habit. It’s worth putting in the effort and perseverance to get rid of it. It will take time and personal effort.

If you find it difficult to cope with mental gum on your own, or don’t know how to block it, you should consult a psychologist. Together you can explore the situation from which mental chewing gum arose.

See you in new articles on the psychologist’s blog!

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Psychologist, online consultant

Galina Gorbunova

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