Rumination is a behavior that involves repetitively dwelling on one's feelings and triggering stimuli and events. According to research conducted in 2017 by Garcia and their colleagues, there are four different types of research, which can be either adaptive or maladaptive.
Reflective
Deliberate
Brooding
Intrusive
Adaptive Rumination
Adaptive rumination refers to types of rumination that can help us better understand different events and our emotions.
Reflective rumination refers to the intentional inward reflection of our own feelings. This can involve introspectively examining our emotions to better understand and process them.
Deliberate rumination refers to reflecting on a situation or event to better understand the various perspectives present. This can look like trying to see all sides of a fight with a loved one to better understand the other person’s point of view.
Maladaptive Rumination
Maladaptive rumination refers to types of rumination that can be unhelpful to our emotional well-being and even worsen our symptoms.
Brooding rumination refers to the passive (and constant) thinking about one’s feelings, emotions, or situations. Brooding can look like letting a bad morning fester throughout the day.
Intrusive rumination refers to unwanted (and often uncontrollable) thoughts related to a stressful situation. Intrusive thoughts can look like spontaneously remembering details about a traumatic event and feeling triggered.
Why do People Ruminate?
There are many reasons why someone might ruminate. Some underlying reasons or triggers of triggers include:
Depression, Anxiety, Stress, or Phobias
Obsessive disorders
Trauma experiences and PTSD
Needs for control
Efforts to understand an event or situation
Efforts to prevent situations from occurring or reoccurring
How Does Rumination Affect Us?
Rumination can affect us in various ways. When we are intentional about how and when we ruminate on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; we can...
Better understand and process our emotions.
Better understand the feelings and behaviors of others
Better understand and process traumatic experiences.
Heal from traumatic experiences.
Learn and practice adaptive coping skills to manage stress and anxiety.
When we are unable to manage rumination through reflection and introspection intentionally, then rumination can lead to...
Depression
Anxiety
PTSD
Poor self-esteem or self-image
Poor coping skills
Self-fulfilling prophecies
Spiraling
These can affect our health, well-being, self-esteem, relationships, and work.
How to Practice Adaptive Rumination?
Though it might not seem like it, thoughts can challenged through adaptive coping. Here are some exercises that can be helpful when managing maladaptive coping:
Thought Records
Creating links to understand how our thoughts affect our feelings and our behaviors.
Distress Tolerance
Learning to manage own distress.
Radical Acceptance
Accepting reality for what it is without dwelling on how things could (or should) be.
Other ways we can manage harmful thoughts and rumination include:
Self-reflection
Identifying the benefits (or harm) we might receive from our thoughts.
Mindfulness
Using skills like self-soothing, meditation, and relaxation to manage the distress that comes from rumination.
Behavior Change
Breaking cycles of unhelpful thought spirals to stop and challenge obsessive rumination.