Five Steps to Stop Ruminating and Repetitive Negative Thinking

ruminating

You can’t stop thinking about it, no matter how hard you try. You’ve got some event or interaction from your past or future on an endless negative loop in your brain and you’re feeling more anxious, depressed and overwhelmed as a result. Why do you do this when you know it doesn’t help, and how can you stop? Today I’m answering all your questions and bringing you my five steps to stop (or at least greatly minimize) ruminating and repetitive negative thinking.

Click here to read the full blog and show notes!

Research and Resources for Five Steps to Stop Ruminating and Repetitive Negative Thinking

Mindfulness Starter Kit

Grounding Exercises

Learned Optimism Jumpstart Workshop

Finally Stop Having Negative Thoughts

The Simple Hack to Stop Your Negative Thoughts All Day

Abby’s Step-by-Step Guide to Starting Your Day Right

Definition of Rumination, American Psychological Association

Ehring, T. (2021). Thinking too much: Rumination and psychopathology. World Psychiatry, 20(3), 441-442. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20910

Watkins ER, Roberts H. Reflecting on rumination: Consequences, causes, mechanisms and treatment of rumination. Behav Res Ther. 2020 Apr;127:103573. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103573. Epub 2020 Jan 31. PMID: 32087393.

Watkins ER. Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychol Bull. 2008 Mar;134(2):163-206. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163. PMID: 18298268; PMCID: PMC2672052.

Law, B. M. (2005, November 1). Probing the depression-rumination cycle. Monitor on Psychology36(10). https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov05/cycle

Shors, T. J., Millon, E. M., M. Chang, H. Y., Olson, R. L., & Alderman, B. L. (2017). Do sex differences in rumination explain sex differences in depression? Journal of Neuroscience Research, 95(1-2), 711-718. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.23976

Kocovski, N. L., MacKenzie, M. B., & Rector, N. A. (2011). Rumination and Distraction Periods Immediately Following a Speech Task: Effect on Postevent Processing in Social Anxiety. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 40(1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/1650607

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