Want to stop rumination? Reduce your levels of anxiety – starting today – with advice from author Monica C. Parker who shares some simple steps to regain inner calm
Words: Monica C. Parker | Images: Shutterstock
Negative emotions such as fear, sadness, shame and stress are all too common features of daily life. And when these “worrying emotions” become entrenched and persistent, they can develop into clinical anxiety.
Globally, it’s estimated that almost 285 million people have an anxiety disorder, and more than 8 million of those live here in the UK, where women are twice as likely to experience anxiety than their male British counterparts. In simplest terms, when left unchecked, these negative emotions make us sick both mentally and physically. From a psychological point of view, anxiety triggers our fight-or-flight response, diminishing focus, memory and mental flexibility. These sorts of emotions also have a biological impact, stimulating our proinflammatory cytokines, which can give rise to health issues, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and Alzheimer’s.
But what if we could swap worry for a more helpful emotion, such as wonder? Wonder is an emotional experience comprised of four elements: openness to experience, curiosity, absorption and awe. As a mixed emotion, we can experience wonder during positive times in our life, but we can also find it in tough times, making it a highly accessible emotion, especially when stressed.
Wonder offers so many benefits, not just psychologically but physiologically and spiritually. It makes us more humble, less materialistic, more generous and better community members. Wonder also decreases stress and makes us feel like we have more time. And if those aren’t reasons enough to motivate us to want more wonder, researchers have found a link between people who experience wonder and lower blood pressure, lower stress hormones and decreased proinflammatory cytokines, suggesting a direct pathway between wonder and better health.
Here are a few ideas on how to stop rumination, tamp down the anxiety and ramp up the wonder in your life…
Be present
Addiction, OCD and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety share a central feature: a narrow self-focus and intrusive rumination. For anxiety, that rumination manifests as a sense of failing, catastrophising and guilt. And while worry can serve an emotional-regulatory purpose in problem-solving, when worry becomes persistent, it tips into the realm of rumination. We want to avoid that spiralling, stubborn negative narrative everyone has to some degree or another. Wonder short-circuits rumination by moving our thoughts from self-focused to other-focused.
There are several ways that help bolster attentional discipline and stop rumination while also making us more wonder-prone, including meditation, gratitude, prayer and narrative journaling. A presence practice maximises our propensity to experience wonder, helping us be more open and present in the moment rather than having our minds on a negative spin cycle.
Ramp up curiosity
Researchers believe curiosity could be a pivotal contributor to resilience. They found that while anxiety triggers avoidant behaviour, curiosity encourages us to put ourselves forward, helping us make meaning of anxious situations rather than retreating from them.
We can tap into our curiosity by seeking new ideas, new places and new thinking. Novelty is key to moving away from negative thinking and towards exploratory behaviour. And because wonder is a meaning-making emotion, it’s best if novelty is paired with some intellectual component. So, take different routes, go to different places. Merely changing the lighting in a space can make it feel new, and wearing your watch on the other wrist can get you out of a mental rut.
Indulge in nostalgia
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, is an often-overlooked emotion. Though on the surface, it could be perceived as negative as it is “self-focused”, nostalgia is actually a powerful mixed emotion, such as curiosity and awe. Nostalgia has been shown to support meaning-making, ameliorate anxiety and make us more grateful. It also serves as a constructive coping mechanism, bringing positive affect to difficult times while making us more open. Combine nostalgia with some narrative journaling, and you have an incredibly effective addition to your presence practice that can connect you more deeply with wonder, while reducing anxious feelings.
Stop rumination by heading out for a hike
Time spent in nature, even just viewing or smelling nature, lowers pain, speeds healing and lessens anxiety. Some of these benefits are attributed to the physical features of nature, such as terpenes (compounds responsible for the smells, flavours and colours of plants) or dappled sunlight through the leaves (what the Japanese call “komorebi”), but the emotional qualities of nature also have healing properties. Experiencing nature makes our brain happy by activating the insula and the anterior cingulate, two areas related to emotional stability, while reducing blood flow to the part of our brain associated with negative thoughts.
A great way to access the wonder of nature is to take a wonder walk. Look for the tiny details, bring in elements of newness (different routes or locales) and embrace the Zen concept shoshin, “beginner’s mind.” Be open, and seek new possibilities. Stop trying to be an expert at life. Revel in the wonder of a beginner.
