How to Help Kids (and Ourselves!) with Worry: A Mindful Practice for All Ages

a post by Beth Kurland for the World of Psychology blog



As a child, and much into my adulthood, I spent countless hours worrying about things that I could not change, things that I had no control over, and often things in the future that never even happened. This created a lot of suffering for me — often unnecessary suffering — that I had difficulty finding a way out of.

We all can get caught in this kind of mental “time traveling.” This is part of our human conditioning, and one of the places our mind defaults to when we have down time. We ruminate about the past. We worry about the future. We get caught in self-referential thoughts such as “how is this going to affect me?” and “what are they going to think about me?” These kinds of thoughts pull us away from the present moment, and often, they can spiral us into negativity, fear or overwhelm.

But what I have learned through mindfulness practice is that as I become aware that I am time traveling, these kinds of thoughts often loosen their grip. They just become thoughts — mental constructs — not absolute truth. And from this place of awareness there is more space to intentionally choose where I want to rest my attention, rather than getting pulled away automatically to places far and away.

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9 Ways to Free Yourself from Ruminations

a post by Therese J. Borchard for the World of Psychology blog



Of all my symptoms of depression, stuck thoughts are by far the most painful and debilitating for me. The harder I try to move the needle from the broken record in my brain, the louder the song becomes.

Ruminations are like a gaggle of politicians campaigning in your head. Try as you might to detach from their agenda, their slogans are forefront in your mind, ready to thrust you down the rabbit hole of depression. Logic tells you they are full of bull, but that doesn’t keep you from believing what they have to say.

Ever since the fourth grade, I have been fighting obsessive thoughts. So for four decades, I have been acquiring tools for living around them, continuously trying out strategies that will deliver them to the back of my noggin. Sometimes I am more successful than others. The more severe my depression, the more pervasive the thoughts. I don’t promise you tips to get rid of them forever, but here are some ways you lessen their hold over you.

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