Reminiscing or Ruminating?

Reminiscing or Ruminating?


Reminiscing trumps ruminating when it comes to a good depression getaway. Reminiscing suggests positive thoughts while ruminating suggests negative thoughts.

 My husband and I have been married since 1998. It is a second marriage for both of us. We each came out of a divorce and held little hope that we might ever love again or trust again. So, when we met and loved and trusted, it was very special!



Sometimes we like to reminisce about how we met and our first few dates. We review the history of our romance. It is such fun to remember good things.

 When was the last time you reminisced about something special? Reminiscing is another word for remembering a story. That can be fun if you are remembering something happy.
As people who are challenged with depression, it is too easy for us to remember bad things, especially when we are in a low mood. We will re-live some of those events over and over when we are depressed. This is called ruminating. It pretty much goes with the illness. It is like having a negative tape playing inside our heads over and over and over. No one can shut this tape off except you. It is not something that another person cannot do for you. But it's not easy.

Silencing this tape of woe is hard to do, especially when you are really depressed. You could however, substitute a good memory for a bad one and then ruminate – I mean reminisce about that good memory.
Practise helps. Sometimes when I can't sleep I reminisce about some good times. It's fun to do and it is surprising how many good times you can find to think about if you really try.
WHAT ABOUT ME?  Confession - I find it hard to turn off the ruminating and turn on the reminiscing, but I keep trying. Unfortunately, when a low mood hits, I re-live a sad time of my life. When I feel good I rarely think about that same time. Am I getting good at substituting reminiscing for ruminating? No I am not really good at it. But this is what I can do. I can practise reminiscing about good stuff when I feel good. Then my tank is full of good memories which I try to retrieve when I am feeling bad.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Take the reminiscing challenge and see if it doesn't give you a little depression getaway. What have you got to lose? Why not try it right now? Are you ready? Okay! Now reminisce about some nice happening in your life. Maybe even record that special memory in your journal. Now isn't that more fun than ruminating?
Don't give up! I am praying for you. There is hope for depression. 

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