Alleviating Rumination During Quarantine
[Reposted from June 17, 2020]
Written by Annika Melwani
Online school has gifted HKIS and other school communities around the world with the freedom to undertake hobbies, read, and spend more time with family. However, it has also forced us to spend more time alone. Some treasure this, using it as an opportunity for self-reflection and peace. Others find themselves ruminating, which leads to more negative emotions (Myers).
Rumination is defined as compulsive overthinking about problems and their causes (Myers). It is associated with anxiety, depression, and increasing negative moods while diverting our attention away from fulfilling, constructive thoughts and tasks at hand.
Students are facing unprecedented world issues at the moment — College Board changes, school life changes, the Covid-19 pandemic, job losses, and the Hong Kong protests. Because most of these are out of our control, we are most likely to use emotion-focused coping. This involves attending to the emotional issues associated with a problem rather than the problem itself.
In our AP Psychology project, my group and I decided to alleviate rumination (through a process called anti-rumination) through painting (Myers). The goal was to redirect our negative thoughts by focusing our energy on the task at hand. Painting can be an outlet for focus, creativity, and complete absorption, all traits found in a state of “flow.” Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his TED Talk on “flow,” describes this as a state of being completely absorbed in a task, where time disappears. He explains that the emotion of apathy comes from when people feel unchallenged and that they aren’t using their skills. To promote flow and decrease apathy, putting your skills into a productive hobby that you enjoy could help.
Although our group decided to try painting, there are a variety of activities that people can try. Flow activities, while not necessarily hobbies, can help us tend to our emotional needs and redirect our negative thoughts. For me, it is a place to put my energy and mind when I find myself ruminating. They offer great relief for my mental health. That being said, none of these flow activities or other serious hobbies can permanently solve the issues that we worry about.
In addition to picking up new hobbies, there are other therapeutic lifestyle changes that we can implement to encourage a healthier mindset. These changes have been shown to make people mentally healthier and to help them cope with depression. Changes include aerobic exercise, adequate sleep, light exposure, social connection, anti-rumination, and nutritional supplements (Myers).
One therapeutic lifestyle change that I think is particularly important is finding community or social support. Through meaningful social connections, we satisfy our need to belong (Myers). For example, you could engage in new hobbies with friends or family. In a time where school is closed and many of us feel socially isolated, it is important to maintain our social ties. If it’s not safe enough to see friends in person, work on creative projects and hobbies through FaceTime or Skype.
Despite these measures, many of us are not equipped to deal with our mental health by simply adopting new hobbies or making therapeutic lifestyle changes. A multitude of global issues have taken a serious toll on many of us. You can find additional help under our “resources” tab.
Works Cited
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. “Flow, the Secret to Happiness.” TED, 2004, www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness?language=en.
Myers, David G., and C. Nathan. Dewall. Psychology, 11th Edition. Worth Publishers, 2015.
