Anxiety often shows up when you want to control an outcome.

When you’re looking for certainty.

When you want assurance—to know what’s coming or be rest assured about something that has already happened.

Anxiety can cause you to ruminate on the past or the future.

“What are people thinking about what I said or did.” This anxiety is rooted in the past.

“What if something bad happens. What if people don’t like me. What if I get sick.” This anxiety is rooted in the future.

Ruminating thoughts are sticky. It seems like no matter how hard you try to stop thinking about them, they are ever present.

Many people come to therapy because of anxious ruminating thoughts.

One way to work with anxiety and ruminating thoughts is to allow yourself to fully embrace what is getting stuck in your mind.

Rumination often intensifies because you’re trying to either push the thoughts away or are trying to find certainty in an uncertain situation.

One of the remedies for ruminating thoughts requiring practice is mindfulness. Here are three steps to move towards mindfulness.

1. Acknowledge there is a ruminating thought present. “Oh, there you are sticky thought.”

2. After acknowledging that there is a sticky thought present, move yourself into the present moment. “I don’t have anything to gain from ruminating on this thought. So instead, I’ll pull myself into the present moment by getting fully immersed in what is happening around me.”

3. If the sticky thought comes back, as it may, especially in the very beginning of practicing mindfulness, do not be hard on yourself. This return to stickiness happens to everyone. Simply acknowledge the thought again, and move yourself back into the present moment. “There you are again. I’m getting back into the present moment.”

Just like many healthy habits, it can take time to develop. Mindfulness is a practice and takes many attempts to have it become more habitual in your life. But when dealing with anxiety and the accompanying ruminating thoughts, you can develop this skill and use it with regularity to support yourself and your loved ones.

If you’d like to schedule an appointment, please feel free to reach out here. For more information on anxiety and rumination, check out Harvard Health.