This is the third installment in my series on Stephen Ilardi’s book The Depression Cure.
Ilardi pinpoints six differences between the American lifestyle and the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and shows that peer-reviewed studies have shown each of these factors has been demonstrated to cause depression. Ilardi’s six factors are:
2. “Anti-rumination” strategies.
3-4 Exercise / Sunlight exposure.
5. Social connection.
6. A good night’s sleep.
Now it’s time to talk about rumination and how to stop doing it. Rumination is when you think non-stop about negative things. It’s the opposite of counting your blessings. It’s focusing on worries about the future, obsessions with past wrongs, and dwelling on everything sub-optimal in your life right now. Personally, I think that the exercise and omega 3 fats will change your mood which will lead to less ruminating. But that may not work for everyone. So, if you find yourself ruminating (dwelling on negative thoughts for more than a minute or two) you have to find a way to stop it.
The easiest way to stop it is to do something to distract yourself. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, because for some people, you need to find an activity that uses your whole mind. If you do something like wash dishes or mow grass, odds are that you will just end up ruminating while you do mow/wash, because those are activities that don’t fully occupy your mind. So what should you do?
The easiest thing to do is to find something that you like doing, or at least don’t mind (or maybe a very engaging household chore that has to be done). It could be a crossword puzzle. It could be playing the Nintendo Wii. It could be hitting the batting cage, target practice, blogging, reading a fantasy novel, watching an engaging movie or TV show. Anything at all that manages to occupy your mind. While I’m on the subject, I figure here is as good a place as any to link to the 80 best free iPad games. My favorites are Asphault 8 (best racing game EVER!) and Plants vs. Zombies 2.
