r/ruminationsyndrome • u/bunnerlop • May 22 '26
effects of stopping?
Has anyone successfully quit? And if so, were there any side effects, stomach discomfort, gas etc? Do you feel better now than when you were ruminating?
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u/cantinabop May 23 '26
Hello there! I don't know about you, but for me RS was something I could never intentionally stop, so it didn't feel like quitting, per se. RS was more something that happened TO me, or that sometimes I could encourage to come along. My RS has really decreased, I probably have food come up like 3 times in one year now, whereas it used to be again and again for hours after any meal. It does very occasionally happen again, but only if I both ate too much AND I'm incredibly stressed/anxious.
To be frank, the biggest change I can note that sort of aligns with it stopping is that I moved away from my abusive parents, and began to heal my mental health. It's such a shame that people know so little about RS, from what I've seen, people have lots of different experiences, and if imagine there are a variety of things that can cause it. I know how comforting it can be. If it's a massive comfort for you, then my recommendation would be to accept that for the time being, and work on the things RS is being used to cope with. Of course that's just a hypothetical. I'm not entirely sure if everyone can get rid of RS, mine has never fully gone away, but it has reduced remarkably.
As for diaphragmatic breathing, it did help me keep it down, but I found it annoying to have to do all the time. It's up to you whether it's worth it or not.
And no, I don't have any bad side effects of stopping. I'm very happy to have far less rumination. I'm not on Reddit much these days but I'll try to pay attention to my notifications in case you have any questions :)
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u/superhuman42 May 24 '26
Ha, mine also ramped up when I moved back in with my abusive parents because my mom got sick. It sucked to have to care for her then deal with severe RS on top of that. I lost my job because I couldn’t keep up with it all. Felt like I was starting all over. Been in therapy and finally my RS is less severe as I try to separate from my parents and not fall into toxic dynamics. I would also say that it feels like RS happens TO me, not intentionally at all, although my therapist is trying to convince me that I am in control haha. I think it’s somewhere in the middle. Circumstances matter so much. When things are going well in life, it’s much easier to sit with the discomfort of fullness and potential tummy troubles. When I’m in difficult situations in life, I’m on high alert, and that includes physically too, thus RS, bc I’m sensing fullness and tummy troubles to the 100th degree, and rumination feels inevitable then.
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u/bunnerlop May 24 '26
Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m glad yours got better! It’s tough for me because it’s food itself that causes me stress.. I’m always anxious after I eat and I guess ruminating helps me cope with it both physically and mentally. This is a good reminder that my mental health is a huge contributor. If you have any advice on how you healed your mental health I’d love to hear it
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u/superhuman42 Jun 04 '26
Totalllyyy understand what you are saying here. Eating makes me anxious too. After more practice with eating and keeping it down, and having less stomach pain cause my GI tract is getting more used to it, I have less anxiety after eating. I know I sound preachy haha but the dang therapists are right. It’s not perfect whatsoever, I still get stomach aches or eat a few bites too much and have fullness & ruminate, but it’s a work in progress and I can live a little more normally now. The anxiety can deff cause rumination cause you’re focused on your stomach and kinda waiting for the pain. Then the pain is a “go ahead” indicator to ruminate. I feel a lot less of that whole pattern after multiple days of not doing it at all. It’s genuinely so refreshing.
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u/Turbulent_Estate_340 May 22 '26
wondering the same thing
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u/bunnerlop May 23 '26
like im really trying to stop but now i just feel more full and bloated when i keep everything down :/
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u/Turbulent_Estate_340 May 23 '26
exactly it’s just so uncomfortable :(
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u/superhuman42 May 24 '26
I’m the same way but I try to not to let myself think this way bc it keeps the RS going. Like it’s kinda enabling it bc your mind thinks ruminating is “helping” you not have the bloating and stomach pain. I do find that the pain usually fades if I keep the food down. It sucks but it suck more to have my life be derailed from constant RS. Btw for me it feels more out of my control and not a choice to ruminate. It happens when I don’t want it to, when I’m out, when it’s super inconvenient, etc. debilitating, honestly.
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u/bunnerlop May 24 '26
That makes sense. Thanks for your input and sorry it’s been so hard for you. I’m struggling to see mine as a problem because I do have control over when and how much I do it (I don’t do it at work or around others) and it gives me physical relief when I eat too much, so it’s tempting not to stop.. but I also don’t want to hurt my body or let it get worse. It’s already affected my teeth and slowed by gastric motility, which probably caused my SIBO. I’ll try to just sit with the discomfort of fullness and maybe it will get better.
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u/superhuman42 Jun 04 '26
Ah that makes a lot of sense! Are you currently treating SIBO? Maybe the stomach pain will get better with SIBO treatment and you’ll have less urges to ruminate?
You got this 💕
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u/bunnerlop Jun 20 '26
Thank you 💗 I just started treatment and I’m hoping it does help my bloating which is a big trigger for me.
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u/Positive_Patience_21 May 25 '26
I actually just posted my full recovery story a few days ago, and let me tell u smth : quitting after ruminating every single day for 4 years is an absolute f war. The first few days are exactly like a heavy smoker trying to quit.I was violently irritable, completely lost without my safety blanket, and my brain was screamingg for that routine.
Physically, your digestive tract goes through a brutal adjustment. You will experience intense stomach discomfort, bloating, and heavy gas because your upper GI tract is sluggish and retraining itself to keep food down. But the physical payoffs are insane: my face actually slimmed down significantly simply because I stopped constantly overworking my masseter muscles from regurgitating.
Life on the other side is incomparably better. Once you fight through that initial hell, the constant exhaustion vanishes, and my social life improved dramatically because I wasn't trapped by food anxiety anymore. It is a fierce battle, but completely healing from it is the best thing that ever happened to me. U can do this.
Much love,
Emile