Monday, January 25, 2021

• Rumination: Signs and Symptoms

 

"Rumination only becomes a problem when it tends to latch onto
negative feelings and is mulled over persistently"

As mentioned previously, rumination is a common thinking pattern in our daily life that is known as a way to deal with or handle our problems. However, rumination only becomes a problem or a disorder when we ruminate in an overextended manner regarding a past event and latches onto the feelings that are brought on by these thoughts.

Based on multiple research, there is also a connection between rumination and depression as well as anxiety. When left uncheck, ruminating thoughts that are aimed at being unhelpful / brooding thoughts that focus on the negative, may begin to affect the individuals’ mindset, feelings and even behavior that will gradually leak out onto his or her present life.

It is also noteworthy to highlight that some people only goes through temporary rumination when experiencing stressful situations such as Temporary Rumination.


Temporary Rumination:

  • ·      Dreading an upcoming important test
  • ·       Reminiscing an important conversation
  • ·       Reliving a past event that was meaningful

In other circumstances that an individual may notices that his or her thought process is ongoing, persistent, and frequent, it may be rumination.

Symptoms of Rumination:

  • ·       Excessive thinking about a painful topic or behavior
  • ·       Excessive talking about a painful past event
  • ·       Lack and loss of interest in usual activities
  • ·       Loss of concentration in daily tasks
  • ·       Racing thoughts

 

Contributing Factors to Rumination:

  • ·       Perfectionism
  • ·       Trauma History
  • ·       Believing that Rumination is the same as Reflection     
  • ·       Neurotic Mindset

 

Bear in mind that rumination is a part of us and should not be viewed as something that alienates us from being human. Whenever our mind goes into autopilot mode, we tend to engage reflect, ruminate, and reminisce about something that happened or was said in the past. 



Resources:
Peterson, A., L. (2021). Mental Health @ Home: What is Rumination. Retrieved from Insights into Psychology: Rumination - Mental Health @ Home (mentalhealthathome.org)
Wehrenberg, M. (2021). Rumination: A Problem in Anxiety and Depression. Retrieved from Rumination: A Problem in Anxiety and Depression | Psychology Today
Dr. Rodriguez, G., S. (2021). Rumination: When Your Thoughts Don't Have An Off Button. Retrieved from Rumination: When Your Thoughts Don’t Have an Off Button (thepsychologygroup.com)




6 comments:

  1. How does a person with eating disorder ruminate?

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Chong. Ruminating eating disorder and the thought disorder - rumination is significantly different. For ruminating eating disorder, it is a rare and chronic condition that mostly affects children and sometimes adults. It is where the definition of rumination actually comes from - "the cow chewing the cud" but instead of being a thought, this involves food. The person with this eating disorder will regurgitate food after meals - basically, chewing, swallow (without the chance of it being digested), regurgitate and chewed again.

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  2. What is the obvious connection between anxiety, depression and rumination?

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    Replies
    1. hi Ataraxia, one of the most prominent connection between anxiety, depression and rumination is that the individual has ruminating thoughts that have now morphed into brooding thoughts that are mostly negative. They brood in negative thoughts for a certain extended period of time and has unknowingly allowed negative feelings to leaked into their reality. Due to the lack of action or constructive distractions done, the person would most likely feel sluggish, lack of motivation, and may need to the other contributing factors such as overgeneralization or worry.

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  3. How do I know if I am temporary ruminating or .. full blown ruminating?

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    Replies
    1. Hi. You can do a little assessment on yourself to find out if you are temporarily ruminating or ruminating by identifying your current situation such as are there something important coming up?, are there responsibilities or commitments you need to fulfill? In temporary rumination, you would often find yourself thinking about situations that occur not too long ago and that it is something that may need to happen soon. For example: Submitting a thesis report that determines a successful graduation, completing a project work task that needs to be completed in the next 2 weeks and your boss demands a meeting of progress in 3 days time. It can even be something that your mum has asked you to do and stated repeatedly that she will be disappointed if you didn't do it.

      In rumination, you often think about thoughts that have past quite awhile ago, something that has happened that gives you a sense of hopelessness or something that you feel you have no sense of control over.

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