How Rumination Differs from Worry
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Worry thoughts spin us forward into the future. We're worried about what might happen, about unknowns and "what ifs." Rumination spins us back into the past. We're rehashing, questioning, and criticizing (usually ourselves). "If only I'd said ____. Maybe I should've ____."
All spinning, forward or back, is the product of our thought loops (thoughts that circle around again and again). Thought loops are based in unproductive anxious thinking.* They upregulate our nervous system (fight, flight, freeze) without doing much in the way of problem-solving.
*Not all anxious thinking is unproductive. Anxiety gets a bad rap but healthy anxiety helps us pay attention during a storm warning or prep for a test. Unproductive anxiety is what we're talking about here - thought loops.
Worry is a thought loop projected into the future - we're spinning forward into what has yet to happen. Common emotions: fear, concern, helplessness.
- Will my teacher be mad that I forgot my homework?
- What if no one invites me to the dance?
- My dog is getting old. Will he die soon?
