Therapies for conditions like O.C.D., anxiety and certain types of depression — which can include cognitive behavioral therapy, antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, light therapy or writing out your feelings — are all useful in reducing rumination, he said.
Medication. If frequent rumination is damaging the esophagus, proton pump inhibitors such as esomeprazole (Nexium) or omeprazole (Prilosec) may be prescribed. These medications can protect the lining of the esophagus until behavior therapy reduces the frequency and severity of regurgitation.
The main treatment for rumination syndrome is behavioral therapy to stop regurgitation. The behavioral therapy that is usually prescribed for rumination syndrome is diaphragmatic breathing. The diaphragm is a large, dome-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs.
The precise cause of rumination syndrome isn't clear. But it appears to be caused by an increase in abdominal pressure. Rumination syndrome is frequently confused with bulimia nervosa, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and gastroparesis.
Rumination and OCD
Rumination is a core feature of OCD that causes a person to spend an inordinate amount time worrying about, analyzing, and trying to understand or clarify a particular thought or theme.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
SSRIs are a type of medication people may use as a treatment for depression. People may also use SSRIs to treat mental health conditions that can cause intrusive thoughts, such as: OCD.
Rumination is a behavior and not a mental health condition. It's a common symptom in anxiety and mood disorders, though. But it doesn't have to be permanent. You can learn to manage it.
In addition, medications originally designed for depression, the SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Effexor, Cymbalta, and others), are also capable of lowering the underlying level of anxiety which takes a lot of steam out of this phenomenon.
There aren't medications that specifically target intrusive thoughts. However, people with OCD and PTSD who experience intrusive thoughts may benefit from medication. It can help you manage the underlying conditions that contribute to intrusive thoughts.
Certain psychiatric medications can help control the obsessions and compulsions of OCD . Most commonly, antidepressants are tried first. Antidepressants approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat OCD include: Clomipramine (Anafranil) for adults and children 10 years and older.
The main medicines prescribed are a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). An SSRI can help improve OCD symptoms by increasing the levels of a chemical called serotonin in your brain. You may need to take an SSRI for up to 12 weeks before you notice any benefit.
Rumination involves repetitive thinking or dwelling on negative feelings and distress and their causes and consequences. The repetitive, negative aspect of rumination can contribute to the development of depression or anxiety and can worsen existing conditions.
Rumination is one of the co-occurring symptoms found both in anxiety disorders and depression. It is often a primary symptom in Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. When people are depressed, the themes of rumination are typically about being inadequate or worthless.
Rumination syndrome is a rare problem. But it may be underdiagnosed because it is mistaken for another problem. Rumination is most often diagnosed in children. But it's also diagnosed in adults.
While rumination syndrome itself is not life-threatening, the problems that develop around the rumination are quite debilitating. Some of these problems include: Heightened GI sensitivity resulting in severe abdominal pain, nausea, bloating and/or pressure that makes having food or fluid in the stomach intolerable.
Fluoxetine. fluoxetine (Prozac) is an SSRI used to treat OCD and other mental health conditions including depression, certain eating disorders, panic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
The five serotonin reuptake inhibitors, all approved by the FDA for OCD, were citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac) fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft).
Zoloft is one of the most popular drugs for obsessive-compulsive disorder. By limiting the reuptake of serotonin into neurons, it improves mood, fears, anxiety, obsessions, and compulsions. This alleviates symptoms of OCD and mood and anxiety disorders.
Obsessing and ruminating are often part of living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). No matter how hard you try to ignore them, those negative thoughts just keep coming back, replaying themselves in an infinite loop. You know it's not healthy, but you can't seem to stop yourself. It makes sense.
The cycle of rumination can lead to depression and anxiety, which can lead to addiction in some cases.
A key difference between worry and rumination is that worry is concerned with danger whilst rumination is concerned with loss, hopelessness and failure. Rumination occurs in the context of sadness, disappointment, loss and depression.
Rumination disorder most often occurs in infants and very young children (between 3 and 12 months), and in children with intellectual disabilities. It is rare in older children, adolescents, and adults. It may occur slightly more often in boys than in girls, but few studies of the disorder exist to confirm this.