STOP Thought - An Anti-Rumination Tool

Bothersome ruminating and obsessive thoughts, such as urges, can happen to anyone at any time. The STOP Thought technique is one way to deal with this, and can help reduce your stress.

STOP Thought is an effective and widely-known cognitive coping strategy. It works like this:

1. Recognize that you are obsessing on a thought.

2. " STOP!" Either say it, yell it, or shout it to yourself (silently) in your thinking. You can also imagine a stop sign in your head.

3. Divert your thinking elsewhere.

4. If the thought returns, repeat the STOP Thought technique.

Some thoughts are like catchy tunes that keep repeating like a loop. Practicing the STOP Thought will help take control over this thinking.

The STOP Thought technique can be particularly useful in recovery to stop the obsessive thinking that promotes urges into unwanted behaviors. Instead of thinking about an urge over and over, recognize the urge for what it is and work to STOP this process.

Sometimes noises, such as tapping on a table, can help promote a STOP Thought as this might help make you more aware of your thinking.

Like other cognitive tools and techniques, results with STOP Thought tend to improve with practice.

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