Have you ever had a thought stuck in your head and you just keep thinking about it, over and over? It's usually about something negative, something that gives you anxiety or makes you feel stressed. Overthinking things happens to the best of us. Many times, it's no big deal, it's just an annoyance. But some people get stuck in a never-ending cycle that's both hard to break and distressing. The compulsive tendency to overthink is referred to as rumination in the mental health world.

If you're prone to overthinking, you may not be surprised to hear that it's not good for you. The good news is that you can take steps to prevent and stop it.

First, why is it not good for us? It's closely tied to depression and anxiety. If you're an overthinker, it can make you more susceptible to both, it can be a symptom of both, and it can make both worse. Also, rumination doesn't lead to any type of problem solving - it's just repetitive thinking without resolution. It's basically mental torture.

Rumination also impacts your physical and mental health. It can raise your risk of developing eating disorders, substance abuse, clinical depression, impaired problem solving, and even cardiovascular disease.

So, what can be done to help stop and prevent it from becoming a problem in the first place? Just being aware of it helps. If you catch yourself starting to have a repetitive thought, try posing it as problem-solving task, one that can be answered. If whatever you're thinking about cannot be solved, then you need to try and let this thought go. If it's something that's happened in the past, that you cannot change or do anything about, no good will come of thinking about it over and over. Instead, try thinking about what you've learned from it and promise yourself that you will apply the lesson to your life.

Distraction is a good way to avoid falling into the rumination pit. Try doing something that requires focus, like a puzzle, to pull yourself out of the cycle.

Some people have success keeping a journal and writing down the thought because having it written down relieves the worry that it will be forgotten. It can break the cycle and help your brain reset.

Remind your brain that you're in charge and replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts when they pop up.

Finally, don't be afraid to seek help from a professional. A therapist can help you figure out how to stop rumination from occurring by introducing you to different cognitive techniques to find out what works best for you.

If you'd like more information or more details about the topic, check out this article featured on Buzzfeed.