Stop the thought spiral
Stop the thought spiral
5 minutes
Rumination is the mental habit of replaying the same thought on a loop – analysing, revisiting, and scrutinising it without gaining new insight or clarity. It can feel like you’re “thinking it through,” but instead of moving toward resolution, the mind stays stuck circling the same track.
It often shows up as thoughts like:
- “What if I’d done something different?”
- “Why did this happen?”
- “What if it happens again?”
- “I should have known better.”
Rumination is an unhelpful thinking pattern because it tricks the brain into believing it’s solving a problem when, in reality, it keeps you stuck:
- It narrows your focus to the threat or fear.
- It amplifies negative thinking, making situations feel more overwhelming.
- It blocks problem-solving, because the mind is replaying rather than resolving.
- It creates emotional fatigue, making small challenges feel heavier than they are.
Rumination doesn’t produce new answers – it simply replays the same situation and circles back to the same answer.
Breaking rumination is essential because the longer the mind loops, the more the nervous system remains activated. Rumination keeps you in a heightened emotional state, even when nothing new is happening.
Stopping rumination matters because it:
- Restores cognitive clarity, helping you make decisions.
- Reduces emotional overwhelm and lowers stress responses.
- Increases resilience, helping you bounce back more quickly.
- Improves focus and productivity by freeing up mental energy.
- Supports wellbeing, helping you come back to the present rather than replaying the past or worrying about the future.
Interrupting the loop creates space for clearer thinking and more intentional action.
Psychological research reliably shows that reducing rumination or repetitive negative thinking (RNT) supports better cognitive and emotional functioning.
- Higher cognitive flexibility is strongly associated with better emotion-regulation flexibility, more use of adaptive coping strategies (like reappraisal and problem-solving), less reliance on worry or brooding, and lower negative affect in daily life.
- Conversely, higher trait rumination is associated with poorer executive functioning, especially reduced cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and problem-solving – cognitive domains critical for adaptive regulation and decision-making.
In short: evidence supports that decreasing rumination or repetitive negative thinking tends to coincide with: improved flexibility of thought, stronger emotion regulation, better mental health, and more effective coping.
Rumination is a maladaptive thinking pattern, not a stand-alone mental health disorder. It’s a repetitive negative thinking process that keeps the brain stuck and can increase vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and stress. If rumination is feeling heavy or constant, please contact your GP, Health Professional or your organisation’s EAP services for professional advice.
If you’d like tools to help interrupt rumination when it shows up as a sometimes thinking habit, explore our accompanying Framework.
