JaylaChandler wrote:Dealing with PTSD rumination is a tough battle, and I can definitely empathize. While I can't claim to have PTSD myself, I struggled with repetitive thoughts and anxieties for a while. Here are a few things that helped me, which might be worth trying for your rumination:

Focus on the present: When my mind would start to wander into negative thought loops, I found it helpful to gently bring my focus back to the present moment. Mindfulness exercises like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation can be useful for this. There are even free guided meditation apps you can try.

Journaling: Sometimes getting those intrusive thoughts out of your head and onto paper can be a big help. I found it beneficial to write down the thoughts and anxieties, then challenge them with more positive or realistic self-talk.

Get out of bed: If I found myself lying awake dwelling on negative thoughts for more than 20 minutes or so, I'd get out of bed. Going to another room to read a book, listen to calming music, or do some light stretches helped take my mind off the rumination and tire me out a bit.


Remember, everyone is different, and what works for one person might not work for another. But hopefully, some of these suggestions might be a good starting point. It takes time and effort, but you can absolutely learn to manage those intrusive thoughts and memories. Hang in there!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any hints and tips on how you were able to stop the rumination with PTSD. Like even waking up to go to the bathroom at night ends in 2 hours of rumination before falling back to sleep. How did you make the intrusive thoughts and memories stop?

Look
Up
MDMA therapy. About to to be approved

JaylaChandler wrote:Dealing with PTSD rumination is a tough battle, and I can definitely empathize. While I can't claim to have PTSD myself, I struggled with repetitive thoughts and anxieties for a while. Here are a few things that helped me, which might be worth trying for your rumination:

Focus on the present: When my mind would start to wander into negative thought loops, I found it helpful to gently bring my focus back to the present moment. Mindfulness exercises like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation can be useful for this. There are even free guided meditation apps you can try.

Journaling: Sometimes getting those intrusive thoughts out of your head and onto paper can be a big help. I found it beneficial to write down the thoughts and anxieties, then challenge them with more positive or realistic self-talk.

Get out of bed: If I found myself lying awake dwelling on negative thoughts for more than 20 minutes or so, I'd get out of bed. Going to another room to read a book, listen to calming music, or do some light stretches helped take my mind off the rumination and tire me out a bit.


Remember, everyone is different, and what works for one person might not work for another. But hopefully, some of these suggestions might be a good starting point. It takes time and effort, but you can absolutely learn to manage those intrusive thoughts and memories. Hang in there!

Anonymous wrote:Any hints and tips on how you were able to stop the rumination with PTSD. Like even waking up to go to the bathroom at night ends in 2 hours of rumination before falling back to sleep. How did you make the intrusive thoughts and memories stop?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Therapy and lifestyle changes: nutritious, nourishing foods, daily walk, exercise, cutting toxic people out of my life, learning how to have/express/enforce boundaries, etc, etc. Trauma recovery is possible, but it is a lot of work and it is painful at times. Keep at it.

This exactly. Meds should be last resort, not first.

I get what y'all are saying and agree that meds should not necessarily be the first treatment for everyone with PTSD. But the suggestion that serious mental illness be treated with "nutritious, nourishing foods" and "daily walks" really needs to stop; it is next level ignorant and harmful.

Ptsd isn't a mental illness, rather it is a trauma response. The lifestyle changes were listed *after* therapy. It is ok to take meds to help access therapy and it is ok to not take meds. My trauma surrounds the loss of control. Running, choosing to eat well, etc help me feel in control of my body. Medicines I tried in the past were not only unhelpful, they made me feel worse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Therapy and lifestyle changes: nutritious, nourishing foods, daily walk, exercise, cutting toxic people out of my life, learning how to have/express/enforce boundaries, etc, etc. Trauma recovery is possible, but it is a lot of work and it is painful at times. Keep at it.

This exactly. Meds should be last resort, not first.

I get what y'all are saying and agree that meds should not necessarily be the first treatment for everyone with PTSD. But the suggestion that serious mental illness be treated with "nutritious, nourishing foods" and "daily walks" really needs to stop; it is next level ignorant and harmful.

Ptsd isn't a mental illness, rather it is a trauma response. The lifestyle changes were listed *after* therapy. It is ok to take meds to help access therapy and it is ok to not take meds. My trauma surrounds the loss of control. Running, choosing to eat well, etc help me feel in control of my body. Medicines I tried in the past were not only unhelpful, they made me feel worse.

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds strange, but acupuncture, specifically for anxiety, reduced my nighttime rumination (and it can be strangely only at night and for hours).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Therapy and lifestyle changes: nutritious, nourishing foods, daily walk, exercise, cutting toxic people out of my life, learning how to have/express/enforce boundaries, etc, etc. Trauma recovery is possible, but it is a lot of work and it is painful at times. Keep at it.

This exactly. Meds should be last resort, not first.

I get what y'all are saying and agree that meds should not necessarily be the first treatment for everyone with PTSD. But the suggestion that serious mental illness be treated with "nutritious, nourishing foods" and "daily walks" really needs to stop; it is next level ignorant and harmful.

Ptsd isn't a mental illness, rather it is a trauma response. The lifestyle changes were listed *after* therapy. It is ok to take meds to help access therapy and it is ok to not take meds. My trauma surrounds the loss of control. Running, choosing to eat well, etc help me feel in control of my body. Medicines I tried in the past were not only unhelpful, they made me feel worse.

Exactly. These meds really can’t guarantee anything. That’s why they’re experimental.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Therapy and lifestyle changes: nutritious, nourishing foods, daily walk, exercise, cutting toxic people out of my life, learning how to have/express/enforce boundaries, etc, etc. Trauma recovery is possible, but it is a lot of work and it is painful at times. Keep at it.

This exactly. Meds should be last resort, not first.

I get what y'all are saying and agree that meds should not necessarily be the first treatment for everyone with PTSD. But the suggestion that serious mental illness be treated with "nutritious, nourishing foods" and "daily walks" really needs to stop; it is next level ignorant and harmful.

Ptsd isn't a mental illness, rather it is a trauma response. The lifestyle changes were listed *after* therapy. It is ok to take meds to help access therapy and it is ok to not take meds. My trauma surrounds the loss of control. Running, choosing to eat well, etc help me feel in control of my body. Medicines I tried in the past were not only unhelpful, they made me feel worse.