Hi RRC,

I too have had and continue to have issues with this. After seeing a counsellor about this in the first recovery year, the term they give this obsessive thought/though racing is "rumination". I was told by a separate counsellor that rumination and uncontrollable thought focus was something very common to people who have experienced a head injury. As like you, I had never had trouble with this prior to the accident and therefore took comfort in knowing that it is normal for this type of injury.

For me, rumination occurs following too much over-stimulation and/or mental flooding occurs. These "triggering events", as I call them, lead to a recovery typically lasting 4-7 days in which rumination occurs almost exclusively in Days 1-3; outside of these days, it simply doesn't occur.

For treatment, my counsellor said that there's really no way control them other than avoiding triggers. When they do occur, the best solution is to use breathing exercises, alternate focus points (i.e. focus on a cup and think about it's color, function, etc.), and distraction (do something that takes your mind off of what you're ruminating). For me, distraction has been the best approach. Note, I've had numerous people suggest walks, showers, and meditation. In my case, these are utterly useless and counter-productive during rumination periods... they just give me more time for thought-racing

One thing I have noticed is that my rumination has overall decreased in the second year of recovery when compared to the first. Like you, I'm on an antidepressant and it is very possible that it is helping, but I'm not sure either way. In looking at what you're currently ruminating about (meeting in which you were fired), I can tell you that this would be a major problem for me. I would relentlessly obsess on this following any triggering event for months on end. I still ruminate about an issue with my benefits provider from this past February!

Hopefully others will be able to chime in. All my solutions are short-term in nature, though I think the passage of time is significant in learning to deal with rumination. I know Bud has commented on thought-racing in a number of threads... hopefully he'll offer his thoughts.