Then I start obsessing over whether I’m annoying everyone with my ruminations. I find all sorts of creative ways to discuss the thing I can’t stop thinking about, from joking about it to asking rhetorical questions to asking others if they’ve ever had similar thoughts. The traffic she got caught in impacted her very differently than it would someone who is not prone to rumination.Īlexis Schuster describes her experience with rumination in an article for The Mighty: “One of the things I find hard to articulate to people is that if I keep bringing something up or making jokes about it, that’s an indication I’m ruminating about it.” I’m guilty of the same “tell” in my own ruminations. One of my clients describes her anxious worrying as “ catastrophic thoughts.” She often begins with a fairly benign thought, such as “This traffic is going to make me late to work.” This becomes “I’m a horrible employee who can’t even show up on time,” which turns into “I’m definitely going to get fired from my job.” For the rest of the week she’s sweating over a small, common mistake that wasn’t her fault. But if the thing on your mind has no solution, or may not be in your control, then you might want to ask yourself if you’re ruminating.ĭepending on whether you’re experiencing depression, anxiety, or another mental health issue, rumination can take varying forms. For example, if you find yourself thinking about a particular problem in order to come up with the best solution, you’re probably not ruminating. The difference between a healthy amount of thinking about a topic, versus harmful rumination, is the end result. Rumination, it turns out, becomes a vicious double-edged sword.Įveryone at one time or another may feel like they’re “obsessing” over some idea or thought. Yet another study in China found similar results among the elderly population. Not only does rumination sometimes lead to depression, but a Canadian study conducted among college students found that those who experienced higher levels of anxiety or depression already tended to engage in more ruminative behaviors. One reason for this difference, Nolen-Hoeksema explained, is likely because of women’s tendency to ruminate more than men. As Nolen-Hoeksema revealed, twice as many women as men tend to be depressed. It is also interesting to consider the substantial gender differences of depression. ![]() Even when they do come up with a positive solution, it’s not unlikely for ruminators to fail to act on them because “the rumination itself may induce a level of uncertainty and immobilization that makes it hard for them to move forward,” says Nolen-Hoeksema. ![]() The negative thoughts that accompany rumination may make it easy for ruminators to stay depressed and harder for them to find positive ways out. ![]() Notably, in another survey - this with 1,300 adults, ages 25 to 75, conducted by Nolen-Hoeksema - found that ruminators are four times as likely to develop major depression than non ruminators. Her longitudinal study of 455 18- to 84-year-olds who had family members pass away from illnesses showed that those who ruminated over the course of 18 months were more likely to become severely depressed than those who didn’t. Research into the rumination-depression link done by Yale psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD supports this finding. “Research shows that people who ruminate are more likely to develop depression compared to those who don’t.” Suma Chand writes for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Rumination is commonly associated with depression. The Link Between Rumination and Depression
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