Thought rumination/obsessive thoughts

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Does anyone else have a problem with this?

When I am upset or confused about something i will turn it over and over in my mind for a long time. This happens automatically and becomes a serious detriment to daily functioning at times. I realize that this is a component of OCD.
Has anyone found a satisfactory way, excluding drugs, do deal with these thoughts?

It happens to me all the time and this really bothers me. And not only after I have argued with somebody, but also when I'm reading a book I keep dreaming all the night the phrases that I've read. It is a process of thinking I can't stop. And yeah, I have the tendency to overthink every trivial s**t that happens in my life.

It happens even with old crap like childhood memories and the worst phase was 2007 when i couldn't stop it for about two months. I thought i'd go ballistic. It's worse when i'm stressed or can't get enough sleep. The only way i know about and that works for me to stop the mental hamster wheel is intense occupation that requires concentration like chess, sudoku, even math, or reading scientific stuff.

Old stuff definitely, but new things work thier way in too. If maybe I am unclear about what a person said or what the motivation was for something. My mind will go off on these far off tangents. Sometimes I end up on these stints for days, where the thoughts cloud my judgement and decision making.

Me, too. It just drives me crazy! Even past thoughts when I get mad with my parents tend to manifest within me.

This happens to me quite a lot, and it's often about social situations and people I've screwed up with in the past. The hurt from things I've done and regretted is just so immense that it is so hard to get my mind off of it.

With people that I've realized I obviously dislike, the situations concerning them don't matter...but when it comes to people I admire and have a positive history with, it just affects me in a really encompassing way where I just can't seem to think about anything else.

Luckily, recently I have found solutions. A couple weeks ago, I was obsessing over this girl I used to hang out with and her group of friends to the point where I had a meltdown and I was unable to concentrate on anything., I blocked them out by becoming busy. I've been really focusing on school, getting errands done throughout the day, getting a job and volunteer work in place, and filling up my schedule...anything to keep me from obsessing. I also have to look at the thought constructively...what can I realistically do about it? I decided to get this girl's number from another friend and am going to call her when I'm ready to.

I'd bet that by replacing one obsession with a more productive one (in my case, being organized and overall successful), it would be easier to get rid of preoccupying thoughts.