An acclaimed science writer explains why we so often become lost in our most self-defeating thoughts and how to transform this brooding energy into something empowering and productive.

Why'd I do that? I’m such an idiot! What did he mean by that comment? He’s such a jerk. Ideally, our thought spirals help us process difficult situations and emotions. When they become repetitive, however, they can be highly problematic: your brain is ruminating. And science has shown the degree to which we ruminate, perhaps more than any other mental act, determines our life-long well-being.

In Mind Drama, veteran science writer Donna Jackson Nakazawa gets inside the strange magnetism of rumination, explains why we're all doing it now more than ever, and shares the new science for decoding, exiting, and repurposing this dark mental habit. Using her own ruminative mind as a test case, she walks us through the actionable neuro-hacks that can help us escape unhealthy brooding, like:

• A checklist of questions to pinpoint how your own brain works; this is how to begin to train it in a new direction.
• How to use ballistic interruptions—words with emotional power—to exit your ruminating thoughts and rewire your mind.
• Suggested body-state breakers, an array of "emergency switch" movements and breathwork to help you self-soothe in the moment.
• How to crack your personal rumination code by assigning names to the images, emotions, and sensations that accompany your downward spirals. Personalizing language this way becomes your portal to escape.
• Why your patterns of rumination have something profound to tell you: they are signal fires from your past; once you understand the messages they’re sending you, you can use that insight to begin to heal.
• How to reverse engineer your ruminative thoughts and spiral up: How to cultivate an "opposite feeling,” learn to "zoom out" to gain perspective, and other actionable skills.

A deeply helpful roadmap to the anatomy of self-criticism and unproductive worry, Mind Drama shows us that with practice we can tame our thoughts and repurpose our ruminative tendencies to access our mind’s higher potential for creativity, ingenuity, and insight.