James' World 2

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Have you ever been stuck on a single thought, a string of thoughts, or a topic that you keep returning to in your mind over and over again? Perhaps you keep mentally replaying images of that awkward date you had with your long-term crush, thinking about how things could have gone differently. Or perhaps you are apprehensive about an upcoming project and are rehearsing all the ways it could go wrong. Mental rehearsal is a normal and universal experience. However, if you find that you tend to dwell excessively on certain experiences – especially negative ones – you may be engaging in rumination.

What exactly is rumination? It’s defined as a tendency to repetitively fixate on the causes, meaning, and consequences of one’s distress. Rumination is characterized by a style of thought (repetitive and obsessive) rather than the specific content of thoughts; however, it most often involves a preoccupation with negative content. Moreover, some evidence suggests that rumination may reflect difficulties with disengaging from negative information, as opposed to a tendency to easily engage with it.

If you tend to ruminate, you may be wondering what the harm is. Often, rumination starts as an attempt to make sense of, and move on from, a frustrating, depressing or anxiety-inducing experience. Other times, it stems from the desire to solve a problem or prevent one from occurring in the future. In these instances, rumination might help you feel as though you are more in control and that you are capable of handling problems or threats. But frequent rumination can induce chronic stress and worsen mental health difficulties.

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