Releasing Obsessive Thoughts: Rumination, OCD, and Dealing with Fear
Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson
Shownotes Transcript
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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