DiscoverThe Psychology of Depression and Anxiety - Dr. Scott EilersHow to stop thinking about the things that stress you out - a strategy for defeating rumination
How to stop thinking about the things that stress you out - a strategy for defeating rumination

How to stop thinking about the things that stress you out - a strategy for defeating rumination

Update: 2026-03-06
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Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this video! The first 500 people to use my link will receive a one-month free trial of Skillshare. Get started today!

Rumination is when your brain gets stuck on a thought and refuses to let it go.

You replay the same worry… the same mistake… the same fear… over and over again. Sometimes for hours. Sometimes for entire days.

And the frustrating part?

Trying to force yourself to stop thinking about it usually makes it worse.

In this episode, I explain a counterintuitive way to break rumination using a principle called limited cognitive capacity — and three variables that determine whether distraction actually works.

If my podcast has helped, my new book, The Light Between the Leaves, goes even deeper

Next Steps:📩 Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.

About me:

I know what it is to feel hopelessly stuck and worthless to the world in general. I also know what it is to live without those feelings. I’m both a Clinical Psychology specializing in treatment-resistant depression and anxiety, and a human who has spent more than a decade managing sever depression and anxiety.

Resources

🪣 Get my free 5-day guide to reclaiming your time and energy despite mental health struggles.

😴 Dramatically improve your sleep in 2 steps with my new Sleep Workbook.

📖 My 1st book: For When Everything is Burning

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.

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How to stop thinking about the things that stress you out - a strategy for defeating rumination

How to stop thinking about the things that stress you out - a strategy for defeating rumination

Scott Eilers