Daily Archives: January 9, 2022

Exploring Altschmerz

Today I thought we could explore Altschmerz. Altschmerz is a compound noun made from the words alt (old) and Schmerz (pain). It therefore translates to ‘old pain’.  What does it mean?

Weariness with the same old issues that you’ve always had—the same boring flaws and anxieties you’ve been gnawing on for years, which leaves them soggy and tasteless and inert, with nothing interesting left to think about, nothing left to do but spit them out and wander off to the backyard, ready to dig up some fresher pain you might have buried long ago.

We’ve all done this. Some of us more than others. I am an expert in Altschmerz. What about you? How familiar are you with old pain? I’m sure we all experience this differently, for me, it generally takes the form of regret and self-recrimination. What about you?

We already know that What You Focus On Grows, so this can’t be a good place to spend our precious time.

Is there a solution?

If you search Google, you’ll find a plethora of “just do this, this, and this” articles mostly rehashing the same stuff over and over. Here are some of the better ones. Some of them focus on rumination, which is obsessive worrying and overthinking, which I think it fits in fairly well with Altschmerz.

  • Establish a time limit! 

If you find yourself in a funk, or in an obsessive worry, regret, or negativity loop, set a timer. Give yourself a set amount of time and really go for the gold. When the timer goes off. Get up. Wash your face. Get dressed. And do something completely different, change your environment, change the channel, change something.

I love this idea. I think I’m going to schedule some worry, guilt, anxiety, regret and general angst time. Make it a part of my daily routine. It will need to be sandwiched in between activities that require me to be functional and present, and/or my favorite fun distractions so that I can easily pull myself out if I get in too deep.

  • Use it to make your life better.

Let’s imagine you received a considerable electricity bill a week ago. You paid the bill, but you suddenly start thinking about it, and you feel more and more upset and stressed. The first step to turn this into something meaningful is to notice what you’re doing. This can be as simple as, “I’ve just started having anxiety about the huge electricity bill.”

Identify the reasons why you’re worrying. For example, “I’m worrying over the electricity bill because I’m on a tight budget, I’m frustrated I have to spend so much money at once, and I’m disappointed because I should have been more careful about using electricity.”

Choose some meaningful changes you could make in your life. You might decide to take shorter showers and wear extra layers of clothing, rather than always turning on the heater. You might open the blinds earlier to make the most of the natural light, rather than turning artificial lights on. All of these changes can help reduce your electricity bill next time.

Take action. Once you have some action steps, do your best to follow through. Write down helpful reminders, set timers, find an accountability buddy — anything that will help you implement the meaningful changes you chose in the previous step.

By identifying helpful changes and implementing them into your life, you’ll train yourself to learn from past mistakes, rather than just “beating yourself up” about them.

  • Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment with an attitude of open-mindedness and curiosity.

For example, you might take a shower, and rather than thinking about the mistakes you’ve made over the last weeks, months, and years, you could practice mindfulness. You might feel the water falling onto your skin. When you close your eyes, you listen to the different sounds you can hear. You notice areas of warmth and coolness in your body. Whenever you catch your mind wandering to the past or future, you re-focus on the moment.

A study in 2019 found that participants who practiced mindfulness were less likely to experience depression. The study author said, “Ruminators tend to latch onto a negative emotion and repeatedly mull it over in their mind, whereas mindfulness teaches us not to become entangled with our negative emotions.”

Next time you notice yourself obsessing about old pain, try a mindfulness practice like mindful breathing or mindful listening.

  • Cultivate your confidence.

Low self-esteem has been linked to increased rumination. When you regularly focus on the past and negative events, you might start to feel like you’re not good enough. You might see your mistakes more than your achievements. Rather than finding ways to learn and grow, you might become caught up in thoughts about what “should” have happened differently. Feelings of shame, disappointment, frustration, and unfairness might grow stronger. So it’s not a huge surprise that your self-esteem can take a hit.

However, if you focus on cultivating your confidence, you might reduce your tendency to focus on the negatives. At the end of each day, write down a list of things you’ve done well. Know and pay attention to your best qualities. Smile at yourself  often. Before you leave the house in the mornings, tell yourself how awesome you are. Because you are awesome! This is actually true.

  • Talk about your thoughts.

Sometimes, an effective way to release persistent or upsetting thoughts is to talk about them. Go out for coffee with a supportive friend or family member and tell them what’s been on your mind. Invite your fears or failures into the open, where they often become less distressing.

If you don’t feel comfortable talking about persistent or upsetting thoughts with the people close to you, perhaps you’d prefer talking a licensed mental health professional. And if that’s not an option, tell your dog, your cat, or even the moon. Sometimes speaking those thoughts aloud allows them to be released.

  • Use distractions.

Interrupt persistent thoughts about the past by engaging in useful distractions.  Listen to a playlist of your favorite uplifting songs. Call a friend and ask them about their day. Go for a run. Declutter and tidy your home. Do something creative, like mindful coloring, gardening, or playing music.

Try to avoid mindless distractions that don’t add value to your life, and find constructive distractions that boost your emotional, physical, or social wellbeing.

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