Break the Loop: Understanding and Stopping OCD Rumination
Hello Everyone,
As always, I hope you’re all doing well and that you’re enjoying the weather as Spring arrives. A frequent topic of conversation in my sessions with my OCD clients is how to stop obsessing/ruminating and so this seemed like a good topic for my next post.
Break the Loop: Understanding and Stopping OCD Rumination
If you live with OCD, you know how exhausting it can be to feel trapped in your own mind. You’ve probably heard of compulsions like hand-washing or checking, but for many people with OCD, the main compulsion isn’t physical at all. It’s mental. This type of OCD has often been referred to as “Pure O”, because the compulsions are mental and thus can’t be seen by others. It’s also often simply called rumination. This ebook is here to help you understand what rumination is, how it traps you, and what you can do—practically and compassionately—to break the loop.
What Is Rumination? Rumination is the act of mentally going over a thought, idea, or fear repeatedly in an attempt to find certainty, relief, or resolution. It can feel like problem-solving, self-reflection, or even responsible thinking—but in OCD, rumination is a compulsion. It usually feels like you “must” go over the same question/issue again and again because it feels like it is too important to ignore.
Ruminations can include:
Replaying conversations to check for moral errors
Mentally reviewing events to assess risk
Analyzing thoughts to determine whether they mean something terrible about you
In short, rumination is the brain’s attempt to answer questions that OCD insists are urgent—but which are ultimately unanswerable.
How Do I Know When I’m Ruminating? Because it mimics normal thinking, rumination can be hard to spot. But there are telltale signs:
You feel like you’re spinning your mental wheels
There’s no end point or satisfying conclusion
You’ve had the same thought-loop before, many times
You notice increased anxiety or guilt the longer you dwell on the thought
You might also catch yourself saying, “I just need to figure this out”, “If I can understand this one thing, I’ll feel better” or “I need to remember exactly what happened or what I did!” That’s often a signal that you’ve stepped into a compulsive mental loop.
The Rumination Trap: Why Trying to Stop Doesn’t Work One of the cruelest tricks of rumination is this: the harder you try to stop it, the more it clings to you. Why?
Because rumination is driven by fear and the need for certainty. When you try to stop ruminating by thinking more, you’re still playing OCD’s game. You’re saying, “This thought is important, and I must resolve it.” It is usually impossible to think your way out of OCD. The more you think about a thought…the more you reinforce the thought and the more you have the thought.
Even mental resistance like “Don’t think that!” or “I need to let this go!” can act as subtle forms of rumination. The more attention you give the thought—positive or negative—the more power it gains.
How to Break the Rumination Cycle Breaking the rumination loop doesn’t happen overnight, but it is possible. Here are some ideas that might help:
Label It – When you notice yourself ruminating, gently say, “This is rumination. I don’t need to solve this right now.” Expect it to be difficult to let go of trying to solve whatever the issue is, but do it anyway. This is ERP.
Shift Attention – Don’t try to suppress the thought because that will make it show up even more...a total paradox, but that is how it works. Instead, bring your focus to a neutral or valued activity: a walk, a conversation, a creative task. You have some control over what you focus on and you can use that here. For example, if we were meeting in my office for a therapy session and there was construction in the next office, I assume you would do your best to tune out the construction noise and focus on what I was saying. Treat the rumination as you would the construction noise. The trick here is that the OCD will make you think you “should”, “must” and/or “need to” listen more closely to the construction noise than what I’m saying. That is one of many tricks that OCD uses to get you to ruminate.
Allow Uncertainty – This is the heart of recovery. Practice accepting that you might not get answers. You can still live your life without having an answer.
Practice Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) – Face triggers without engaging the mental compulsion of rumination. Regularly seek out opportunities to be exposed to your triggers and practice not ruminating.
Be Kind to Yourself – You’re not failing when you ruminate. You’re learning. Each time you notice and redirect is a small win. If done correctly this will feel difficult…if it isn’t difficult, you’re not doing it right. Congratulate yourself each time you notice and redirect.
Freedom Isn’t Certainty, It’s accepting the Uncertainty and Choosing to not ruminate. Rumination tries to promise safety through mental control, but that’s a lie. Real freedom comes when you can say, “I don’t need to solve this right now, letting go and moving on” Let this be your first step toward reclaiming your mental space—and your life.
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Thanks for reading! If this post resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences in the comments. Also, if you know someone who might benefit from this, feel free to share it. And if someone was kind enough to forward this post to you and you’re interested in subscribing, you can do so here.
And a quick reminder: While I hope this post is helpful, it’s not a substitute for therapy. If you’re struggling with anxiety or OCD, I encourage you to reach out to a qualified therapist. You don’t have to go through this alone.
If you’re having trouble finding a therapist to treat your anxiety disorder/OCD, you might find my recent ebook helpful: How to Find a Therapist to Treat Your Anxiety Disorder.
Stay safe,
Dr. Bob