Rumination
What is it?
Rumination is the process of going over critical repetitive thoughts about ourselves
and others which feeds into low mood, impacts on our behaviour and also brings us
down physically by reducing our energy level.
The following behaviours are all examples of rumination:
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o
o
o
o
o
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worrying
overanalysing or over-thinking things
obsessing
brooding
turning a problem over and over in your mind
racking your brain about problems
stewing about a problem for long periods of time
dwelling
Rumination is not problem solving and does not lead to any changes to our life.
It often involves: “Why?” “If only?” ways of thinking. We need to change the ‘Why’ to
a ‘How’ way of thinking and focus on problem solving and taking action. Changing
rumination to problem solving takes lots of practise.
How to recognise when you are ruminating
You know you are ruminating if:
• You are thinking over and over about negative thoughts, feelings or situations.
• The process of thinking over and over again is not helping you feel less depressed,
more hopeful, or less self-critical.
• The process of thinking has not helped you to solve a problem.
The two minute rule for recognising rumination:
Once you think you might be ruminating, continue what you are doing for two
minutes. Then stop and ask yourself the following three questions:
1. Have I made any progress towards solving a problem?
2. Do I understand something about a problem (or my feelings about it) that I haven’t
understood before?
3. Do I feel less self-critical or less depressed than before I started thinking about
this?
Unless the answer to one of these questions is a clear YES chances are you’re
ruminating.
Monitoring Rumination
Over the next week, see if you can recognise and label rumination when it occurs.
When you recognise it, say to yourself “This is ruminating”. You will be surprised at
how powerful it can be to simply increase your awareness of what you’re doing. You
will probably find that labelling your rumination will start to help you to control it.
Use the table below to monitor ruminating when it happens. In the first column,
record the situation in which you observed yourself ruminating. In the second column
record exactly what you were ruminating about. In the third column identify the
consequences of ruminating.
Situation
1.
2.
Sorting the
washing out
Rumination
Consequence
My life has changed so much. I’ll
Felt resentful
never be happy or fulfilled in my life and the chore
took 20 minutes
again.
longer than
usual.
3.
4.
5.
Rumination cues action:
This might seem like a strange idea, but you can actually teach yourself to use
ruminating as a cue to get active. You can use the acronym RCA, which stands for
“Rumination Cues Action”. A cue is something that prompts you to behave in a
certain way. For example, a red traffic light is a cue to slow down and eventually
stop. Unfortunately, if you tend to ruminate, then many things in your life probably
cue you to do so. And, ruminating itself has probably become a cue for more
ruminating. But that can change.
Use the monitoring table to notice when you ruminate, notice any patterns and times
of day that are particularly difficult. Then use this to learn to respond differently to
rumination. For example, if you noticed that after dinner you often sit and ruminate,
make a list of things you could be doing after dinner instead e.g. reading an
enjoyable book, paying bills, taking a walk, watching a movie, or calling family and
friends.
Over the next few days, try to put this RCA process to work. Whenever you observe
yourself ruminating, label it (“This is ruminating”), and then use it as a cue to shift to
a different activity. If you stick with it for a few days, you should notice a major
decrease in the amount of time you spend ruminating, and your mood should
improve.
Putting RCA to work
1.
Situation
Rumination
Cues Action
Sorting the
washing out
My life has
→
changed so much.
I’ll never be happy
or fulfilled in my life
again.
Ask if you can do anything
about this now using the
two minute rule, if not
disengage by:
1. Focus on the textures
and colours of the clothes
2. Pay attention to what is
in your surroundings:
sights, sounds, smells.
2.
→
1.
2.
3.
→
1.
2.
4.
→
1.
2.
5.
→
1.
2.