What is rumination, or “I constantly analyze everything”

Clients often say that all their strength and energy seem to go somewhere. Even seemingly insignificant conflicts and difficulties at first glance cause strong feelings. And for a long time they continue as an internal dialogue: assessing the correctness or incorrectness of the actions taken, thinking through possible options. As a result, a person is almost completely immersed in his experiences, spending most of his strength and energy on reflection. Events occurring in the present fade into the background. In the foreground is an analysis of what has already happened and, logically, concern about the future.

Sometimes clients phrase it this way: “My head is my biggest enemy, I constantly analyze something.”

In psychology, this is called the term “rumination” — a type of thinking in which obsessive thoughts predominate, gradually crowding out other types of mental activity.

This type of thinking can play a cruel joke. At first, this looks like a desire to “think things through”, gradually developing into a constant obsessive internal dialogue.

How prone are you to rumination? How do these statements apply to you:

1. My attention is often consumed by thoughts that I would rather not think
2. I constantly replay all my recent actions in my head.
3. I find it difficult to get rid of intrusive negative thoughts about myself
4. I re-analyze all my…