Rumination is repetitive thinking about what's wrong and why. Here's what the research links it to, and practical ways to break the loop.
You replay this morning's conversation with your manager. Again. Twenty minutes later you've been through every word and three worst-case endings, and you understand the situation no better than when you started.
That's rumination. Psychologists use the word for repetitive, passive thinking about your distress, its causes and what it means, without moving towards doing anything about it. Breaking the cycle usually means changing the type of thinking (from "why" to "what next") and giving your attention somewhere else to go.
What Rumination Looks Like
The late psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema did much of the early research on rumination, a word that comes from cows chewing the cud. Her work found that ruminating after a sad event most often happens in women, while men are more likely to ruminate when angry. In practice it sounds like "why does this always happen to you" and "what's wrong with you," asked over and over.
The giveaway is the question type. Rumination runs on big, abstract "why" questions that don't have answers, so the loop never closes. Its cousin, catastrophising, jumps to the worst possible outcome, and the two often feed each other.
Rumination vs Reflection
Reflection moves you somewhere. Deciding you handled a meeting badly and will send your points in advance next time is uncomfortable but finished. Rumination turns the same event into "you're such an idiot, everyone noticed." Then it does it again an hour later.
Women do ruminate somewhat more than men on average. A 2013 meta-analysis by Daniel Johnson and Mark Whisman pooled 59 samples with over 14,000 adults. It found women scored higher than men on rumination, but the difference was small. Plenty of men ruminate heavily and plenty of women don't.
Why Rumination Matters for Depression
Nolen-Hoeksema surveyed about 1,300 adults aged 25 to 75. She found that ruminators developed major depression four times as often as non-ruminators: 20 percent versus 5 percent. That held for people who weren't depressed at the start. It's a link in one survey, not proof that rumination alone causes depression.
Rumination also stretches a bad feeling out. A small embarrassment, chewed on for an evening, can end up feeling like proof that something is wrong with you.
How to Break the Rumination Cycle
Switch from "why" to "how" and "what." Instead of asking why you always mess up, ask what exactly happened in that meeting. Then name one thing you'd do differently.
This is the idea behind concreteness training, developed by psychologist Ed Watkins. In a trial with 121 adults with depression in primary care, adding guided self-help concreteness training to usual care improved depressive symptoms and reduced rumination. Relaxation training improved symptoms about as much, though concreteness training did more to reduce rumination itself.
Watkins also developed rumination-focused CBT, a therapy built around this habit. A trial with 42 people whose depression hadn't lifted with medication found adding up to 12 sessions of rumination-focused CBT improved their remaining symptoms. It was small, and it had no comparison therapy.
Give the loop a time slot. Some people find it helps to set aside a short, fixed time for worrying and to postpone loops until then. It's a common CBT technique, though the evidence for it on its own is limited.
In Nolen-Hoeksema's studies, steering ruminators towards neutral thoughts reduced their rumination. When you catch yourself on the third lap, do something that needs some focus. A walk, a call with a friend or a task with your hands all work.
And when you notice the loop, self-compassion works better than adding "and now you're ruminating" to your list of failures. If the loops mostly arrive at bedtime, try these ways to quiet anxious thoughts at night.
See a GP if rumination comes with low mood most days for two weeks or more, or stops you sleeping or working. If your thoughts turn to harming yourself, contact Samaritans on 116 123 (UK, free, 24/7). In the US, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In an emergency, call 999 or 911.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rumination the Same as Overthinking?
Overthinking is the everyday term and rumination is the research term for one type of it. Rumination specifically means going over your distress and its causes again and again without solving anything. Thinking hard about a decision and then making it isn't rumination.
How Do I Know If I'm Ruminating or Processing My Feelings?
Processing tends to move somewhere, towards a decision, an understanding or acceptance. Rumination keeps returning to the same questions with the same feeling. If you've had the identical conversation with yourself several days in a row, you're probably ruminating.
Can Therapy Help With Rumination?
Yes. Rumination-focused CBT and concreteness training were both designed to target it and have been tested in trials with people with depression. Standard CBT also works on the habit, and a GP can refer you.
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine.
