"One of the most effective things you can do when your thoughts are spiraling out of control is to distract yourself, Dr. Siegle said."
— Hannah Seo
Author
Date
Feb. 1, 2023
Metaphor
"One of the most effective things you can do when your thoughts are spiraling out of control is to distract yourself, Dr. Siegle said."
Metaphor in Context
One of the most effective things you can do when your thoughts are spiraling out of control is to distract yourself, Dr. Siegle said. In one study published in 2011, for instance, researchers found that when socially anxious college students redirected their attention by using word-rearranging exercises shortly after giving a three-minute speech, they felt more positive about how their presentation went than those who performed a guided negative rumination session. In another study from 2008, 60 college students were asked to remember events in their lives when they had felt lonely, sad, rejected or hurt. Then they were told to spend eight minutes either ruminating, focusing on mindfulness prompts or distracting themselves with random thoughts and observations. Rumination prolonged negative moods, while distraction mitigated them. Mindfulness neither helped nor worsened their moods.
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Hannah Seo, "How to Stop Ruminating" The New York Times (Feb. 1, 2023). <Link to NYTimes.com>
Date of Entry
02/25/2024
