Nov 7, 2025
Negative thoughts come and go… unless they don’t. Sometimes, negative thoughts can get stuck on repeat in your brain. No matter how hard you try to rationalize them or distract yourself, the negative thoughts are caught in a loop.
This is called rumination, and is a very common sign of mental health issues. Anxiety, ADHD, OCD, PTSD, and Borderline Personality Disorder are all examples of mental health issues that can include rumination.
Rumination can be distressing, disrupting, and exhausting. This article will teach you how to put a stop to your looping negative thoughts.
What Is Ruminating?
Rumination is an unhealthy thinking pattern. It is when you dwell on something negative or distressing, or feel like you can’t stop thinking about it.
Maybe no matter what you do, you can’t stop thinking about the fight you had with your sister. Or maybe you obsess over a work project, unable to put it down out of fear of it being less than perfect.
There are many examples of rumination, which we’ll get into below. For now, here are some signs that you are ruminating:
- Replaying past events in your mind, often repeatedly and obsessively
- Struggling to “let go” of mistakes or regrets
- Overanalyzing conversations or situations
- Difficulty focusing on the present
- Thoughts spiral quickly
- Feeling mentally “stuck” without finding solutions
- Seeking constant reassurance
- Negative self-talk
- Increased anxiety or depression
- Sleep disturbances
- Procrastination or avoidance
- Feeling drained or mentally exhausted
- Comparing yourself to others constantly
Rumination can be hard to spot because so much of it happens internally. If you start to spot the external signs of rumination- anxiety, depression, sleep issues, procrastination- take some time to notice what your thoughts have been like.
What do you spend most of your time thinking about? What do those thoughts make you feel? Could you stop thinking about that, if you wanted to?
Examples of Rumination
When trying to stop rumination, it can be helpful to know what to look for. Here are some examples of rumination:
- Replaying a moment repeatedly, analyzing what you did wrong and judging yourself. “Why did I say that in the meeting? I sounded so stupid.”
- Obsessing over a distressing thing that happened, like a breakup or a bad public speaking event. “If I had just done things differently, maybe they wouldn’t have left me.”
- Obsess over a past breakup or loss, trying to rewrite the outcome.
- Catastrophizing and going over the worst-case scenarios without taking action. “What if I fail this exam and ruin my entire future?”
- Repeatedly rehearsing a confrontation that never happened. “If they said this, then I would say that, and then. . .”
- Assuming and dwelling on what others may think, without evidence. “Everyone probably thinks I’m incompetent.”
- Reliving old failures or embarrassments long after they occurred. “I can’t believe I made that mistake five years ago.”
- Internalizing negative thoughts and turning them inward. “Why can’t I just be normal? What’s wrong with me?”
- Looping on hopeless thoughts about the future. “What if I never get better?”
- Second-guess yourself long after a choice has been made. “Was that the right decision? What if I made a huge mistake?”
- Mentally stuck in the past, wishing for a different outcome. “I wish I could go back and change that.”
These are not the only examples of rumination, and rumination will be specific to your situation. If you have been obsessing over a certain situation or can’t get your mind off a negative emotion, experience, or memory, you’re probably ruminating.
How to Stop Ruminating
How do you stop a thought?
It might sound impossible, but there are therapeutic techniques to help you. Once you’ve identified rumination, here are some things you can do to get yourself out of this toxic loop:
- Distract Yourself: You can figure out how to fix the rumination later. First, you have to stop ruminating. Try calling a friend, exercising, engaging in a fun hobby or creative activity, or putting on a new movie or TV show.
- Write down your thoughts: Get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Take it a step further by making a plan. If you’re ruminating about an upcoming project, what steps can you take to solve that problem? If you’re ruminating about something in the past, what steps can you take to ensure something like that is less likely to happen? Once you’ve written a plan, put the pen down and take a step away from the issue. Do something fun, interesting, or distracting.
- Get some physical space from the issue: Where do you find yourself ruminating the most? Is it in the car on your drive home or in bed as you’re trying to sleep? Maybe it’s somewhere else entirely. Wherever it is, rumination can be partly tied to a physical place that serves as a trigger for those negative thoughts. Break that trigger by removing yourself to a new, calming location, somewhere you feel happy and safe.
- Ask yourself what you can realistically change: “Rationalization” is the process of sorting out the truth from the lie in our thoughts. It’s harder than it sounds, but one simple step you can take is to ask yourself what you can change about the situation you’re ruminating over. Change what you can, and try to mindfully let go of the rest.
- Call out perfectionism: Did you actually make a mistake, or are you just a perfectionist? Perfectionism and rumination go hand-in-hand. Despite what perfectionism might try to tell you, overthinking will not make you less likely to fail. Rumination will not ensure perfection.
- Build your self-esteem: Research has shown a link between low self-esteem and rumination. One way to stop ruminating is to grow in your self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Practice some mindfulness techniques: Mindfulness does not have to mean meditation (although meditation can be very effective at reducing rumination). Try color scanning, box breathing, or mindfully walking as a way to clear your head and get a hold of your racing thoughts.
If these coping mechanisms fail to reduce rumination, talking to a therapist can help.
How Do Therapists Treat Rumination?
A therapist will help you identify the root cause of your rumination. For example, many people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) ruminate, but so do many people with OCD. The treatment for GAD and OCD is different.
Knowing what is causing the rumination will help your therapist construct an effective therapy strategy- saving you time and money.
Therapy for rumination can involve Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Therapy, and Trauma Therapy, depending on the core cause.
If you struggle with racing and looping thought patterns like rumination, reach out to Lifebulb Counseling. We accept most major insurances and have little to no wait times.
