Brooding

Tormenting thoughts that keep repeating and never find a solution: Brooding not only worsens mood, but also negatively affects the body. They usually occur in combination with depression and keep those affected in a passive victim role. However, there are therapeutic treatment options and self-help methods that can put an end to unhealthy thinking in the loop.

What is brooding?

Brooding is often caused by another mental illness, most often depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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Brooding is a negative form of reflection. In the process, tormenting thoughts force themselves on the person concerned in the form of an endless loop that cannot be suppressed. Science also speaks of rumination (ruminating) of thoughts. They often revolve around issues from the past or concerns about the future.

The most common triggers for brooding include disputes, decisions, philosophical questions, and yourself. The compulsion to brood is accompanied by self-reproach, feelings of inferiority and hopelessness and usually occurs in spurts. These are triggered by current events, although these do not necessarily have to be the object of brooding.

In contrast to healthy thinking, the focus is not on action-oriented and future-oriented finding solutions, but on the compulsive repetition of unpleasant experiences or expectations. Instead of asking "how", the question is "why". Brooding thus represents a certain "search into the void".

causes

Brooding is often caused by another mental illness, most often depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The unspecific feeling of unhappiness leads to the impulse to get better by thinking about your own situation. The brooding should open up insights into the cause of the dissatisfaction and thereby provide relief.

Many psychotherapists have found that this approach obscures the fear of active intervention. By passive perseverance and brooding, the person concerned does not run the risk of failure, criticism or rejection. In addition, obsessive thoughts are an indication of lack of self-worth, indecision, and insecurity.

The doubts about oneself express themselves in exaggerated self-critical and derogatory thoughts. Past injuries and trauma that have not been treated appropriately can also lead to brooding. But since these can no longer be reversed, those affected feel like helpless victims. Constantly thinking about the negative past and reproaching yourself or others leads into the downward spiral of brooding.

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Diseases with this symptom

• depressions

• Anxiety disorder

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Diagnosis & course

Only when the brooding occurs outside of depressive episodes is it diagnosed as a disorder in its own right. On the other hand, if it takes the form of worries about everyday events or possible future accidents and lasts longer than six months, this is an indication of a generalized anxiety disorder.

In most cases, the brooding increases in the evening. The endless thought loops cause a general deterioration in mood, lack of energy and malaise. If the compulsion to brood is not recognized and treated in time, it can lead to severe depression and anxiety even in people without previous psychological illnesses.

Over time, physical symptoms such as tension, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, stomach ulcers, and digestive problems can also appear. In addition, negative thinking is mental stress for the body, which causes an increased release of the hormone cortisol. This has a dampening effect on the immune system and thus increases the risk of illness.

Complications

Brooding can lead to a number of mental and physical problems. Chronic brooding makes you unhappy at first and leads to frustration and anxiety. This leads to insomnia, feelings of powerlessness and tension. As a further complication of persistent reflection, self-confidence decreases and there is sometimes severe stress and its consequences: blood pressure and heart rate increase, physical tension occurs and the quality of life sometimes decreases significantly.

Further complications of brooding can range from depressive moods to full-blown depression. In the long run, brooding makes you sick and causes various symptoms of obsession and fear, which in turn lead to an intensification of brooding - a vicious circle develops. Brooding also has a physical effect: teeth grinding, stomach ulcers and fatigue are among the most common symptoms, and stress can also affect the heart and internal organs or the immune system and lead to a variety of other complications.

In extreme cases, the symptoms develop into severe depression or another mental illness such as burnout. The consequences and their intensity vary greatly from person to person, which is why brooding, especially if it develops into a chronic problem, should be countered promptly by talking to a therapist, medication and other methods.

When should you go to the doctor?

Brooding with possible disease value is obsessive-compulsive thinking, in which brooding itself is in the foreground, not so much finding a solution. The Grübelkarussell often revolves around rather mundane things. This type of brooding is often about negatively perceived events from the past: sad childhood, divorce or lack of success. Philosophical questions can also trigger a real compulsion to brood. In such a case, therapeutic advice is urgently needed, because untreated brooding can lead to an anxiety disorder, depression or even suicide.

In a psychological or psychotherapeutic treatment, brooding can be countered with behavioral therapy. Those affected have to leave their passive victim role. Together with their psychologist or psychotherapist, they analyze their motivation to brood. The therapist makes them aware that some things can no longer be changed and that even the most intense brooding does not provide a solution, but rather pulls the brooder into a psychological downward spiral.

In addition to psychological problems, brooding can also cause physical impairment and thus create a psychosomatic clinical picture. Typical symptoms are sleep disorders, poor appetite, digestive problems, tension and difficulty concentrating. A therapist with a psychosomatic orientation is a good choice in treating compulsive brooding.

Doctors & therapists in your area

Treatment & Therapy

If relapses occur frequently, it is advisable to initiate psychotherapeutic treatment. Techniques such as problem-solving training, relaxation techniques, psychoeducation, mindfulness-based approaches and classic behavioral therapy are used. If the brooding is a symptom of depression, antidepressants are often used.

If the course of the disease has not lasted for a long time and also in conjunction with therapeutic treatment, a number of measures can be taken. The prerequisite for this is the ability to recognize pathological thoughts as such. Under no circumstances should these be taken as facts, but purely as thoughts.

A distanced attitude allows you to take notice of it, but not to take it too seriously. In order to break out of the vicious circle, the method of the stop word is used: As soon as brooding is noticed as such, a fixed word is spoken out loud to interrupt the thoughts. Then one should take up a distracting activity that is enjoyed and that makes the person concerned happy.

Focusing your attention on the outside world is another way to keep yourself from obsessive thoughts. The perception is consciously directed several times a day for a few minutes on something outside. Keeping a Grübel diary can also help: The tormenting thoughts are dealt with within a limited time frame. This gives them a controlled amount of attention that is not exceeded.

Outlook & forecast

Brooding is part of the normal and healthy mood of a person in temporary phases. Brooding moods can be good and meaningful when triggered by an event that requires thought and decision. Man takes the time he needs as an individual to become clear about his desires and needs and to take a new direction. It is normal for them to feel down, sad, and disoriented. The brooding mood disappears in healthy people as soon as it has led to a result or as soon as the trigger for that mood changes or disappears.

However, brooding can also become an increasingly common mood and cause distress. The person concerned ponders more and more insignificant things and notices that this affects his basic mood and diminishes his well-being.These cases may be harbingers or indications of possible depression.

This means that the brooding does not resolve itself as it does in healthy people, but either returns or becomes permanent. If left untreated, this condition can continue - depending on what's behind the brooding. It can be the onset of depression or burnout that gets worse if left untreated.

You can find your medication here

➔ Medicines against depressive moods & to lighten the mood

prevention

In order to prevent obsessive thoughts and brooding in the first place, it is advisable to keep looking at your thoughts from a distant perspective. Questions such as “Did I understand something by thinking that wasn't clear before?”, “Did I come closer to a solution as a result?”, Or “Do I feel less depressed by thinking?” Cannot be answered with “yes “Are answered, there is probably an obligation to brood.

Recognizing such thought patterns is the first step in being able to take appropriate action. The strengthening of self-esteem and the acceptance of the past as closed also remove the breeding ground for brooding.

You can do that yourself

In everyday life, employment is a good way of avoiding long brooding. The main distraction is tasks that pose at least a minor challenge to the head. This draws attention away from brooding.

One technique from cognitive behavioral therapy is the thought stop. This can also be used well in everyday life. As soon as the thoughts turn in circles and the brooding begins, the person concerned interrupts himself with a "stop". Depending on the situation, the word can be thought or pronounced aloud. The goal of this measure is to stop the brooding and detect it as early as possible. As a rule, a significant improvement can be observed over time. Applied mindfulness can also be used as self-help for brooding. Mindfulness is based on the principle of consciously perceiving one's own thoughts, emotions and physical sensations without evaluating them.

If the brooding occurs as a symptom of a mental disorder (e.g. depression), self-help groups can also be a useful addition to therapy. In such groups, those affected exchange ideas, support one another and learn more about themselves and their problems.

In addition, practical aids can make everyday life easier - for example an alarm clock that interrupts long periods of brooding. Relaxation techniques from yoga or autogenic training also help "switch off your head".