Overthinking, Ruminating and Worrying: How to Get Out of Your Head

Thank you for listening and supporting This Might Help. This week's episode is all about overthinking or "repetitive negative thinking", including ruminating and worrying. Overthinking is so common, especially for young women, and in this episode we unpack what can lead to overthinking, why our brains get stuck in this pattern and talk through short-term and longer-term strategies to help reduce overthinking.You can find us on socials @thismighthelppodcast - ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTokThe full video version of this episode is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@thismighthelppodcastSome of the key research we chat about can be found below:Ehring, T., & Watkins, E. R. (2008). Repetitive negative thinking as a transdiagnostic process. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 1(3), 192–205. https://doi.org/10.1680/ijct.2008.1.3.192Johnson, D. P., & Whisman, M. A. (2013). Gender differences in rumination: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(4), 414–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.03.019Koster, E. H. W., De Lissnyder, E., Derakshan, N., & De Raedt, R. (2011). Understanding depressive rumination from a cognitive science perspective: The impaired disengagement hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(1), 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.08.005Lilly, K. J., Howard, C., Zubielevitch, E., & Sibley, C. G. (2023). Thinking twice: Examining gender differences in repetitive negative thinking across the adult lifespan. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1239112. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1239112Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R. & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. Rumination Reconsidered: A Psychometric Analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research 27, 247–259 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023910315561These resources were also used for this episode:https://www.ted.com/talks/guy_winch_how_to_turn_off_work_thoughts_during_your_free_timehttps://www.headspace.com/articles/stop-overthinking-start-livingIf you or a loved one needs further support, we strongly encourage you to speak with your GP, psychologist, or another qualified healthcare professional.Additional support can be found through:Beyond Blue - https://www.beyondblue.org.au 1300 22 4636 LifeLine - https://988lifeline.org/get-help/ 13 11 14 Headspace - https://headspace.org.au 1800 650 890 (for those aged 25 or under)