What Is Rumination? Definition, Causes & How to Stop It

For​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ the tenth time, you are having the same conversation with yourself. You keep on making the same mistake as you are looking for the elusive answers. It is possible that what you are going through is rumination, a thought pattern that not only affects millions of people but also is strongly related to a person's anxiety and depression.

Learning what is rumination plays a crucial role in the fight against ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌it.

Rumination Definition

Clinically,​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ rumination means the habit of continuously and passively thinking about upsetting thoughts, emotions, or experiences without finding a way out. It comes from the Latin ruminare, which refers to the way cows re-chew their food. In the same way, rumination means repeating the same thoughts over and over again without making any real progress.

Rumination's definition is more than just normal thinking. Good thinking enables you to grow. Rumination makes you stay in the same place. It is passive, repetitive, and usually only focused on the past mistakes instead of the future course of ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌action.

Rumination vs. Overthinking

Many​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ people confuse rumination with overthinking, but the two are quite different:

However, in reality, they do overlap a lot. Rumination is usually all about negativity and is mainly dwelling on the past or present distressing thoughts and their causes. On the other hand, worry usually involves uncertainty, and more often than not, it is focused on the future or on the threat that is ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌expected.

What Causes Rumination?

• Being a perfectionist: One study published in the Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy has shown that rumination was closely linked with all three aspects of perfectionism, depression, and anxiety severity. In the same study, rumination was found to be strongly negatively related to self-compassion.

• Stress and trauma: Ruminative thoughts often get started by stressful and traumatic events, bereavement, or romantic difficulties

• Low self-compassion: It is known that individuals who are the most self-critical tend to ruminate more

• Experience of depression: According to the longitudinal cohort study that was published in BMC Psychiatry, the ruminative style of responding to the low mood is correlated with later high depressive symptoms and depressive disorder not only in children and adolescents but also in adults

This list does not cover the whole spectrum of primary triggers. Rumination is even believed to be a sort of transdiagnostic factor - a factor that is present in multiple mental health conditions. 

In a study done by PMC, it was found that rumination mediated the relationship between depressive and anxiety symptoms, which means that it is a significant factor in mutually sustaining the depression and anxiety ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌conditions.

Rumination Anxiety and Depression

Obsessive​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ worrying about things from the past is a very typical symptom. You imagine going over a conversation and being sure that you said the wrong thing. 

Or going over a decision at work and being certain that you made a mistake. Each time, it seems so important - as if figuring it out would stop the feelings of uneasiness.

But it never does. That's the problem. In fact, rumination imitates problem-solving, but in reality, it creates no solutions - it only results in more suffering.

In cases of rumination disorder, the cycle of thoughts becomes so heavy that it interferes with daily living, work, and even relationships to a great extent. Rumination disorder is also very often identified in therapy as a major problem-together-factor in both depression and generalized anxiety ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌disorder.

How to Stop Ruminating

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ great news is that rumination can be dramatically reduced with proper support and interventions. Research findings in this respect are as follows:

Rumination-Focused CBT (RF-CBT) 

RF-CBT is a very effective way of treating rumination. It belongs to the family of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is a therapeutic talk, a guiding conversation intended to alter one's negative thinking patterns. The key difference between the standard form of CBT and RF-CBT is that while the former focuses only on the thought content, the latter targets the rumination process itself. 

According to the most recent systematic review of this topic, the best interventions for rumination are a type of cognition-focused therapy, and it has also been reflected by the American Psychiatric Association that individual as well as group therapy formats turn out to be equally effective.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness simply means being in the present moment and observing your thoughts without making any judgment. This mindfulness practice helps to untangle the rumination habit, which is a passive and automatic thought-loop. 

According to a meta-analysis in PMC, mindfulness-based interventions were found to significantly reduce rumination levels in depression and also reduce anxiety symptoms.

Behavioral Activation

Involving one’s body while doing something worthwhile and engaging will work as a break from the mental withdrawal that is the basis of rumination. Just a 90-minute walk in nature can be enough to decrease self-reported rumination and the related brain activity in the region where self-focused rumination takes place, according to APA.

Change "Why?" to "How?"

The major therapeutic strategy of RF-CBT is moving away from abstract “why” questions. These questions are generally accusatory and depressing. For instance, “Why am I so clumsy?” 

On the contrary, “how” is a concrete question asking for a change in response. It implies trying different approaches to the problem and is a step away from dwelling on problem-solving that is the brain’s natural ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌inclination.

When to Seek Help

If​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ rumination is disturbing your sleep, your relationships, or your very ability to function from one day to the next, then it's justifiable to want to get help from a professional. A counselor who uses RF-CBT or mindfulness-based techniques can assist you in creating new skills that will work to permanently stop the cycle.

Don't know where to begin or what questions to ask your doctor? Give August AI a go - it is an AI health assistant that aced medical licensing exams at 100%. With August, you can get a clearer understanding of your symptoms, be well-prepared for the mental health appointment, and decide what the right course of action ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌is.

Key Takeaways

But​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ to begin with, what exactly is rumination? It is a psychological habit - one that has you continually reliving the past, while you are essentially absent from the present moment. It is not only linked to anxiety and depression, but most of the time it leads to those problems. Plus, it usually gets worse the more you do it, but on the other hand, it is not too late if you get suitable help. 

In fact, a couple of effective treatments are RF-CBT and mindfulness, which have plenty of data behind them. On the other hand, August AI can get you ready and even direct you if you decide to go ahead with your first ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌step.