Overthinking & Depression

Have you ever found yourself ruminating over something you wish hadn’t happened or spent days (and nights) rehashing an unpleasant experience? Most humans have—and more than once! Miriam-Webster’s dictionary defines rumination as going over in the mind repeatedly. Reviewing a behavior or situation in order to evaluate what happened and be ready to make a different decision is one thing. Chewing over and over what happened and stewing about it, especially If you cannot go back and fix it, is a horse of a different color. This repetitively passive brooding can trigger depression. Yale University psychology professor Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, author of Women Who Think Too Much, has pointed out that females are more prone to rumination than are males. And females may be twice as prone to depression when compared with males, especially depression and posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Rumination may play into that. More tomorrow.