Releasing Obsessive Thoughts: Rumination, OCD, and Dealing with Fear

04.17.2023 - By Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Forrest Hanson Play

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Forrest and Dr. Rick delve into a frequently requested topic: how we can let go of obsessive and intrusive thoughts. They explore why we get trapped in certain thoughts, the negative effects of rumination, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). They also discuss facing our fears, which allows us to get close enough to a problem that we can do something about it…without getting so close that we become overwhelmed by it.

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Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:20: What is rumination?

5:00: Why we get stuck in certain thoughts

8:10: Two kinds of obsessive thoughts

11:00: The brains attempt to problem solve

13:40: Assessing a hypothetical client

20:15: We all have weird thoughts

22:35: Reality testing, naming thoughts and not feeding them

25:20: "Completing the gestalt"

31:40: Rick completing a gestalt on psychedelics

33:45: Balancing closeness and distance

39:45: Exaggerating the obsession vs. thought suppression

42:35: Widening your view and surrendering to the worst

44:50: The intrinsic emptiness of a ruminative thought

48:10: Another hypothetical case study

56:10: Doing good in the world as an antidote

59:30: Recap

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