Thread by @dustychipura

hey you know how when you have #ADHD sometimes your thoughts are all swirly and you just keep chewing on the same thought over and over and you can't stop thinking about it and it's distracting you and sometimes even putting you in a really bad mood or making you irritable?

my friend, you are RUMINATING

let's talk about rumination

Rumination is different from normal, healthy thought. It actually is a part of ADHD and a byproduct of poor attention regulation because it's essentially hyperfocusing...on a thought.

In a neurotypical brain, a person has greater control over regulating their attention. They can DECIDE (more or less) what to pay attention to and when they want to stop paying attention to something they consciously decide to stop... and then their brain stops.

With ADHD, we sometimes don't have control over that process. We can't stop even when we want to or know we should. Think about times you've been laying in bed using your phone or late for work because you couldn't put down a video game. You KNEW it was time to stop but couldn't

Rumination is basically the mental version of that. It's problematic because it's a big distraction and can cause us to make silly mistakes or forget things we should be attending to. it takes us far, far out of the present moment.

It also SUCKS. Nobody likes obsessing about something unpleasant (rumination is rarely pleasant) or turning an upsetting thought over and over in your mind. It can cause emotional dysregulation - essentially causing us to get in a terrible mood

Rumination + Emotional Dysregulation often leads to REACTIVITY. We have low impulse control already so being in a state of severe emotional pain and not being able to stop thinking about something often leads us to thinking we need to take action to get relief

But that action isn't always grounded in logical, calm thought that is aligned with our long term goals so when we lash out at someone, end a friendship, quit a job, spontaneously try to do a thing without much forethought or planning... we make things worse for ourselves.

Why do we ruminate? Aside from not being able to switch our attention, rumination actually does something for our ADHD - it's stimulating.

Yes, your brain is trying to fuck with you on purpose.

Our brains are in a chronic state of low stimulation. The ADHD brain is always scanning for the thing that is going to have the biggest payoff, stimulation-wise. Sometimes that thing is playing with itself. It might feel terrible for you to be ruminating....

...but the harder you're ruminating, the more activity and fun and stimulation there is for your brain! Thoughts are flying, you might have an elevated heartbeat, cortisol or adrenaline are flowing...your ADHD is having a HEYDAY

understanding this is key to understanding how to STOP ruminating.

If you are ruminating & you want/need to stop, consider that your brain may need an alternative but equally intense source of stimulation. Have you been working all day? have you been denying yourself opportunities to get dopamine? Is your dopamine tank low due to poor self-care?

What can you do, RIGHT NOW, to give your brain something else to play with?

Secondly, separating the 'me' from 'my brain' can be really helpful. Understanding that rumination is a part of ADHD can be helpful.

Instead of obsessively being stuck INSIDE the thought, you can step back and observe the thought and think "oh my brain is ruminating right now", or "oh man, my ADHD really wants me to ruminate"

It sounds funny but personifying the ADHD or your brain can create just enough space to help interrupt the rumination.

Last but not least, Dr. Edward Ned Hallowell says, "don't feed the demon" - when you're ruminating, do ANYTHING else. Clean your room. Go for a walk/run. In fact, do any kind of exercise. Wash the dishes. Do anything but sit and ruminate - keep trying to distract yourself.

It will pass. Good luck, y'all.