Reducing rumination

Rumination is a term that psychologists use to refer to when we churn thoughts over and over in our minds, usually about past events. We keep thinking about an event, how it could have gone differently, what others did to us, how we could have reacted differently and what could have gone right. As you can imagine, rumination can very quickly lead to a negative mood.

For example, imagine you’re in a shop and experience very poor customer service (the cashier is extremely rude to you for no apparent reason). Whilst some individuals would simply shrug off the negative experience and move on, others may go over and over what happened. Below are some of the thoughts this incident might generate:

This type of cycle can also spin in a forward direction, when we start thinking about what might happen in the future. This often leads to an anxious mood.

Let’s look at a different example. Imagine that you have a lot of revision to do for your exams. You really want to do well but your friend tells you they overheard someone say that the exams are really hard this year. The anxiety cycle for this situation may go something like this:

If you want to read more about mental health difficulties in young people please take a look at this helpful Young Minds resource which has specific information on anxiety.

If you notice yourself ruminating about past events or worrying about future events do the following:

1. Try to apply the strategies promoting healthy habits which were explored in Week 1 (Step 1.3 onwards)
2. Distract yourself away from the rumination and anxiety cycles by immediately doing something engaging or active (e.g. exercise or housework, watch a short film, go and talk to someone, call someone or send some messages, listen to some uplifting music and dance in a silly way, listen to podcasts, go for a fast walk etc.)
3. Change the way you’re thinking – this one will take some practice. Take a look at the next Step for tips on how to do this.