Perseverative cognition stinks

[8crismon]

That's the fancy term for rigid thinking, thought loops that don't quit, usually over specific topics. Mostly made up of rumination, worry, and repetitive thoughts. Getting stuck on topics that are dead horses stinks. Personal one being the worry of "Am I gay"? I have ruminated on that jass for months off and on. Causing intrusive thoughts to arise and me to lose sleep. Though I have thoroughly thought about it, always concluding that "I'm not"; still the worry persists. What are y'alls experiences with this?

 

[Judge]

The short answer? - Yes.

Though "rigid thinking" is one thing, but defaulting to the possibility or inevitability of catastrophe is quite another. Often making our daily existence exhausting at times. Where the only tool I have is to first rationalize that it is negativity based on incomplete or inadequate data and just attempt to mentally move on. Whether fully conscious or before achieving a state of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep.

(Once in such a state of sleep, whether coming out of it or going into it the mind can play all kinds of tricks on you. Where you may not be able to rationalize it all until you are fully conscious again.)

Not to mention those of us with OCD which further complicates perseverative cognition. Where certain thoughts along the lines of OCD can be even more difficult to rationalize and quickly dismiss.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I am a researcher and planner. In other words, if I have concerns about something, I will research the topic to exhaustion and then have a mental algorithm of "if this, then that". That way if something pops up unexpectedly, I am less likely to hesitate, and will pivot rather quickly to plan B, C, or D. I am not one to worry about unknowns, I am a risk taker, I am not afraid of making mistakes, but I almost always have thought things through and can adapt and overcome.

Now, having said that, I will definitely lose sleep whilst thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong, but at the same time, I am thinking of solutions.

 

[marc_101]

Perseverative cognition is about thinking negative things on a loop (rumination). Its cousin is special interests, which can be quite pleasant: getting into something with full passion and energy. But as with rumination, I can't stop.

I imagine that another family member is obsession with problem solving. In grad school I couldn't stop thinking about some problems that I couldn't solve. I would dream about them (once or twice I woke up with a solution).

Another related thing is intrusive images. I'm very visual, and sometimes I can't stop having images coming up that can be annoying. I practice meditation and the thing I do is try to "blank" my mind so I literally think of a white or black canvas.

In summary, @8crismon, I understand what you're talking about. My brother, who is also on the spectrum, gets into some intense anxiety loops. Hard to talk with out of it.

If you can, I would recommend meditation.

 

[8crismon]

Perseverative cognition is about thinking negative things on a loop (rumination). Its cousin is special interests, which can be quite pleasant: getting into something with full passion and energy. But as with rumination, I can't stop.

I imagine that another family member is obsession with problem solving. In grad school I couldn't stop thinking about some problems that I couldn't solve. I would dream about them (once or twice I woke up with a solution).

Another related thing is intrusive images. I'm very visual, and sometimes I can't stop having images coming up that can be annoying. I practice meditation and the thing I do is try to "blank" my mind so I literally think of a white or black canvas.

In summary, @8crismon, I understand what you're talking about. My brother, who is also on the spectrum, gets into some intense anxiety loops. Hard to talk with out of it.

If you can, I would recommend meditation.

How do meditate?

 

[marc_101]

See the link below. The idea is to focus on something, anything. Breath is the classic just because we have to breathe. You could count. I need to focus on images because otherwise I get distracted, so I "see" numbers. 1 to 5, then back to 1. You'll get distracted immediately, but that's ok. Noticing the distraction is the point. Just go back to the breaths or counting. That's all.

How to Meditate for Beginners: Tips, Benefits & More

Expert-backed steps and benefits of starting a meditation practiceBreathe in. Breathe out. Man, you've had one rough day, and your mind is racing. If only there was something you could do to relax! Well, have you tried meditation?...

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