When I teach students about cognitive therapy, I often review common thinking patterns that many people struggle with. One general category of thinking patterns is what I’d call “repetitive thinking”. Repetitive thinking often comes in a few different forms: Worry, rumination, and obsessive thoughts.
Let’s say you’re anxious about going to a party, because you struggle with social anxiety. Your worry thoughts would be the “what if” types of predictions that you have about what would happen if you were to go to the party. Maybe you predict that you will be the only one there not talking to someone, will blush or appear anxious, will be poorly dressed compared with others, or will have nothing interesting to say. These are worry thoughts because they involve the prediction that negative events will happen at some point in the future.
You might also have rumination thoughts. The word “rumination” comes from the word “ruminant.” A ruminant is an animal that digests and regurgitates food, only to chew and digest it again. This is what ruminative thoughts are like: You “chew” over negative events, thinking again and again about why they’re happening to you. In the party example, you could ruminate about the fact that you are so anxious about the party (e.g., “Why am I always so anxious? Why can’t I get a handle on this? Other people have it so much easier than me.” “There’s something wrong with me.”). Some tipoffs that you’re ruminating are that you’re dwelling on a past or current problem, or that you’re thinking about how bad that problem is and why it’s happening.
Another type of repetitive thinking includes obsessive thoughts. With the party example, let’s say you have thoughts that you might put your face in the punch bowl, that you will contract germs from shaking hands, or that you’ll spontaneously jump from the balcony. These thoughts come to your mind over and over, and you feel very little control over them and realize that they don’t make much sense. That’s often what obsessive thoughts are like: You think repeatedly about things that have happened or might happen, the thoughts seem out of your control, and you don’t fully buy what they have to say.
Why is it important to recognize these different types of repetitive thinking patterns? Well, if you are riddled with worry, ruminate a lot, or experience obsessive thoughts, you know how stressful and upsetting this can be. Simply being able to step back in your mind and identify these thoughts for what they are can help you feel a little more capable of dealing with them. You might, for example, say to yourself, “OK, I’m having worry thoughts.” Or “I’m ruminating.” Or “There’s another obsessive thought.” Also, figuring out what type of repetitive thoughts you’re having (worry, rumination, or obsessive thoughts) can help you determine how to deal with them. Different types of thoughts sometimes require different types of coping skills and strategies. If you’re working with a therapist and are learning to identify these thinking patterns, you might consider asking them for suggestions on how best to deal with them.
I am having the thought (you tell me if it’s a worry thought, rumination, or an obsessive thought) that some people might be disappointed that I’ve described these thoughts without providing any suggestions about how to cope with them. Therefore, in a future blog, I think I’ll discuss some skills you might consider trying out! ~Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych