The Thought Stopping Technique: How Can It Help Me With Obsessive Thoughts?

Have you felt drowned in your thoughts? Don’t you know how to concentrate or focus your ideas? Stopping thought can be a successful way out.

Ruminative or obsessive thoughts are a series of ideas generated by fear and worry that we dwell on. and back and forth without deciding to act.

This mental dynamic is destructive for any person, because anxiety and stress increase, as well as general discomfort. Thus, the thought stopping technique can be a very good option to end all this.

These types of obsessive thoughts never get us anywhere. Let’s imagine that we have delivered a great project, but we have doubts and fears about its validity and correctness. It is very possible that we cannot stop thinking about this, however, is it helping us at all?

We can’t do anything now, so returning to that very negative idea about that project over and over again, mulling it over, worrying about the outcome that we don’t yet know what it will be, is only fueling excruciating fear and anxiety.

How to successfully get out of rumination

People who suffer from obsessive thoughts believe that they are in control. They are not aware that they are the ones who are feeding them, allowing them to continue spinning in their minds without any indication that they will eventually stop.

When this happens, when headaches even appear as a result of all this, the thought stopping technique can help. The ideal is that we know how to identify the beginning of possible rumination in order to put this technique into action.

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In this way, we will avoid the growth of anxiety and growing discomfort. Also, it is possible that at first this is difficult for us or that the thought stopping technique does not seem to work for us (it requires systematic training). Let’s see how we can train her.

The thought stopping technique

The thought stopping technique is an exercise that many psychologists recommend.. It is advisable that, when we are at the beginning of rumination, we isolate ourselves in a space where we will not be disturbed.

Later, when we have acquired practice, this will no longer be necessary and we will be able to put the technique into practice in almost all environments or contexts. Well, alone, without anyone being able to be with the only illumination of natural light, we are going to dedicate ourselves to thinking about that thought that disturbs us so much.

We are going to focus a lot on it instead of trying to avoid it, ignore it or run away from it. Don’t you want attention? Well, we are going to dedicate everything to it and, even if our anxiety or fear increases, we are going to stay that way for at least a minute.

In the moment in wich That thought is at its peak and anxiety or fear floods us, so much so that it is unbearable, we are going to shout very loudly and without shame, “stop” or “enough.”.

We can choose any other word that works for us. The important thing is that when we say it we realize that all those thoughts in our mind stop. Once we do this, we leave the room.

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Although the difference is subtle at first, we will notice that we are now more relaxed. But this is not over, we have to go back into the room.

When we do it again, we repeat the same process. Also, when we say the word, we will do it in a lower tone.

As we go in and out of the room, for about the fourth time, we will probably be able to stop the thought without saying the word out loud. The time will come when our mind will do it and it will have the same effect as if we had shouted it.

Practice makes a master

This exercise should be practiced frequently until we master it.. Thus, the time will come when we will be able to do it automatically, surrounded by people and without anyone noticing.

Thanks to the thought-stopping technique, we can also put this exercise into practice when we need it. At dinner with friends, at a meeting, when we are driving…

In fact, we won’t have to do it consciously. It will be our mind, “without us telling it anything”, that reacts like this when it understands that a thought loop has begun..

In this way, the cognitive cost of using it will be very low and we will be able to continue focusing on the conversation we are having or on the environment without suffering breakdowns or stoppages.

Obsessive thoughts that affect some people can limit them to the point of preventing them from concentrating on work, from enjoying life, from exercising without thinking about what is making them feel so bad.

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So, With the thought stopping technique, you may not be able to completely eliminate your obsessive thoughts, but you may be able to shorten their duration or make them less intrusive.. This way they can continue enjoying, doing things and working without those thoughts harming them or harming us.