When mental looping leads to an emotional spiral
We have all been caught in the mental loop trap before. Someone is rude to you and you can’t stop thinking about it. Like what you should have said back to them or what else you could have done in that moment. This can be any topic of course but the key is you continually keep thinking about something that bothers you and it can be difficult to get off the loop train.
What happens when you ruminate on something that bothers you for extended periods of time is that you get caught up in the emotions of what you are thinking about. You are mentally spinning on something that emotionally you are not dealing with. Let’s say an issue came up that made you start to worry and the more you thought about it the more you would worry. You are dropping from a neutral or good vibration to a lower emotional state of worry. The longer you ignore this the more of an emotional spiral you will take. You may find that you start at feeling worried and spiral down to nervousness and then to fear and panic. While this is going to happen from time to time, the key is to not stay there for too long.
Ignoring emotions will eventually cause issues in the physical body. I recently experienced this at an accelerated rate. I had a situation with someone that left me really frustrated. I found myself continually thinking about it and as the days passed old memories of other things that aggravated me came up about this person. This put me into an emotional downward spiral from annoyance to frustration to complete anger. By the time I realized what was happening and began to clear and reset myself, I ended up with an infection in the body. It was a very clear sign to not let myself spin out as much as I did.
Here are 3 steps to cope with an emotional spiral
1. Pause + Gather information
As soon as you notice that you are spinning out try to take some time to pause, breathe and calm yourself down as you gather info on what is happening. Try to stick to the present event as a singular one and staying away from phrases like “this always happens to me”. Take note of any physical sensations, emotions or thoughts that are coming up.
2. Reflect + Write
Take some time to reflect as to why you are feeling the way you are. Was it one thing or a few? Name the emotions and thoughts and remind yourself it is ok to have feelings about this situation. As you reflect, you can journal on what is coming up so it is on paper and not spinning in your mind. This way you can tell yourself the info is there and you don’t need to keep thinking about it for now and can go back to it later if necessary.
3. Move the Energy
You then want to figure out what you need in order to move forward with your day/moment. Start with some deep breaths — continued focused breathing will help calm the nervous system. Taking 5-10 minutes for a short clearing meditation or visualization is helpful to reset yourself, this meditation helps with anxiety. Moving the body and changing scenery can also help get you into a new pattern of thinking. Or using a mantra to change your thinking is also useful. I like one from Louse Hay, “All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation, only good will come, and I am safe.” This helps strengthen a positive thought and weaken the negative ones.
These should help stop the spiraling and let you take your control back. You can cycle through them as necessary until you feel like you have resolved the issue or have actions steps that you can take to further improve the situation.
