Repetitive Thought (Including Rumination & Worry)
Human beings experience a wide variety of repetitive thoughts about themselves and their lives, not all of them negative. Reminiscing, savoring, anticipating, and problem-solving are positive examples of repetitive thoughts, and go some way ot explaining why we have the propensity to engage in repetitive thoughts.
Some types of repetitive thought are unhelpful though, even harmful. Rumination and worry are two key forms of unhelpful repetitive thought and use of these can predict anxiety and depression. They are maintainance factors in conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder and depression.
- Ruminating assessment measure goodmedicine.org.uk archive.org
- Ruminating thought worksheet centerstoneresearch.org archive.org
- Rumination – from trap to trac goodmedicine.org.uk archive.org
- 11 steps to stop ruminating jayuhdinger.com archive.org
- Dealing with worry in low intensity CBT – a CBT workbook from CEDAR exeter.ac.uk archive.org
- The how and why of rumination and worry – presentation by Professor Ed Watkins exeter.ac.uk archive.org
- Targeting rumination by changing processing style: Experiential and Imagery exercises – presentation by Professor Ed Watkins babcpconference.com archive.org
- Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 163-206 nih.gov
- Watkins, E. R. (2009). Depressive Rumination and Co-Morbidity: Evidence for Brooding as a Transdiagnostic Process. Journal of Rational-Emotive Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 27, 160-175 nih.gov
- Watkins, E. R. (2016). Rumination-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. Guilford Publications.
