Try to come up with different distraction activities that you can use in different settings: some that you can use at work, some you can use while out and about, and some for those late-night thoughts in bed. Distract yourselfĭiverting your attention to something else is often the easiest way to get out of the mental rut. Here are 5 tips for when you get stuck in the same distressing patterns. The good news is that rumination doesn’t have to lead to a psychological disorder or a physical illness – the cycle can be broken. Furthermore, rumination can also be a predictor and contributing factor to physical pain. A 2012 review found that there is a relationship between ruminative thinking and impaired physical health.įor example, rumination may intensify the perception of perceived somatic symptoms or result in genuine biological stress. Rumination doesn’t just affect your mental health. It was found that this also plays a role in depression. The results of a 2012 study showed that rumination was associated with volume reductions in brain areas that have been related to cognitive control processes like inhibition and thought suppression. Interestingly, the connection between depression and rumination isn’t purely psychological. In other words, these disorders don’t seem to be caused by our baggage, but rather by how we think about it. The study also found that rumination correlated with greater severity and duration of depressive episodes.Ī 2013 article reports that other predictors of both depression and anxiety disorders, like a family history of mental health difficulties, social deprivation, and traumatic or abusive life experiences, seem to be mediated by psychological processes like rumination. Rumination is closely related to depression, both as a symptom and a predictor.įor example, a 2010 study found that higher levels of rumination were associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing both a current depressive episode and a past history of depressive episodes. However, the negative effects of rumination don’t end there. Getting stuck in that negative loop will only serve to deepen the distress. It’s pretty clear that you aren’t doing yourself any favors by playing a problem over and over again in your head without trying to find a solution. The two do overlap and are believed to stem from the same processes, but worrying thoughts are usually more future-oriented, while rumination is more concerned with the past, according to a 2005 study. If ‘rumination’ just sounds like a fancy word for ‘worry’ for you, you aren’t too far off. What’s the difference between ruminating and worrying? But the good news is that people seem to ruminate less the older they get. There is evidence that women tend to ruminate more than men. Instead, people who ruminate remain fixated on the problems and on their feelings about them without taking action.Ĭo-rumination is the act of repeatedly discussing these thoughts and feelings with someone else without finding or trying to find a solution or resolution. Rumination does not lead to active problem-solving. The term was initially coined in 1991 by American psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema as a part of her response styles theory.Īccording to this theory, rumination involves repetitively and passively focusing on symptoms of distress and its possible causes and consequences. This kind of repetitive thinking is known as rumination. Or spending your ride home going over something you said at work, worrying over the impression you might have left. You’re probably familiar with the feeling of lying awake at night, thinking about something that happened years ago. Rumination impairs your physical health. What’s the difference between ruminating and worrying?.
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