Ikani explains how worrying or ruminating may initially help you reflect on your feelings and inform you about how you should act in certain situations. It can also serve the purpose of finding solutions to practical and mental problems. Examples of this include people worrying about their studies or thinking about the future of their job. “However, for some people this may turn into excessive and uncontrollable negative thinking, which can make someone more vulnerable for the development of anxiety or depressive symptoms,” says the researcher. For people who engage a lot in repetitive negative thinking, it’s a cognitive habit that is initiated quite automatically: “In that sense, worrying and ruminating are quite similar to smoking or drinking,” maintains the researcher.
The process of repetitive negative thinking: top-down versus bottom-up
Ikani introduced a model to illustrate repetitive negative thinking. The model focuses on the top-down and bottom-up aspects of such thoughts. Top-down relates to the cognitive control that a person has over their thoughts. “We exert cognitive control so that we can focus attention on relevant information in our environment, to shift our attention, or to remove irrelevant information from our working memory,” explains Ikani. People who worry or ruminate a lot have a hard time exercising cognitive control, she says. “This makes it difficult for them to down-regulate these negative thoughts.”
The bottom-up aspect includes automatic processes by which a person’s thoughts may pop into their mind. “People who worry or ruminate excessively tend to process information in a negative way,” says Ikani. “This means that environmental stimuli that may be both positive and negative are more likely to be labelled as negative.” What’s more, negative information tends to be better remembered. Automatic processes therefore seem biased towards the negative, which can create a vicious cycle, according to the researcher.
A vicious cycle
Whether worrying or ruminating is experienced as excessive differs considerably from person to person. Ikani’s research outlines the way in which an imbalance between top-down and bottom-up aspects, in combination with negative metacognitions about worry or rumination, can lead to a vicious cycle. “Repetitive negative thinking is often initially considered to be helpful. Such thoughts about the usefulness of worrying or ruminating are called positive metacognitions. In short, metacognitions are thoughts about your own thoughts,” explains Ikani. “However, when someone continues to worry or ruminate, this may increasingly be experienced as something negative, which reinforces the vicious cycle in which the person finds themselves.” People who continue to engage in repetitive negative thinking also appear to pay more attention to stimuli that correspond to their negative thoughts. “This confirms your negative thoughts, and together with reduced cognitive control, makes it increasingly difficult to let go of negative thoughts,” she concludes.
Does Ikani occasionally worry or ruminate herself? “Definitely!” she laughs. “Even though I conduct a lot of research on repetitive negative thinking, it doesn’t mean that I always have control over these thoughts, so I also worry every now and then.” Breaking the repetitive negative thought cycle requires a balance between its top-down and bottom-up aspects. “What may help someone differs from person to person. In general, it is important that the repetitive negative thoughts are dealt with constructively. When someone is worrying or ruminating, they can get bogged down by vague ‘what-if’ scenarios. Thinking specifically about how you can approach a certain situation may help you find a solution sooner,” says Ikani. “Sometimes this helps you to realize that there actually is no immediate solution. In such a case, try to determine which benefits worrying or ruminating offer you and whether it may really help you to deal with the situation,” she continues. Ikani gives a number of examples that can be put to use. “Some people may find that mindfulness helps, accepting certain thoughts at that moment and letting go of others. This may help them to increase cognitive control over their thoughts. Others may find that keeping a diary of their negative thoughts is very helpful.” Lastly, she suggests that setting aside half an hour per day for repetitive negative thinking can help, as this will allow you to put your worries away for the rest of the day.
Repetitive negative thinking among studentsOne of the groups in which Ikani conducted her research was students. It turned out that students reported much more repetitive negative thoughts than it had initially been thought. However, Ikani was not very surprised by this: “The time spent at university is a period that’s marked by many changes.” The researcher cites examples such as getting your own place, making new friendships, the development of romantic relationships, and obvious things like academic pressure, finding an internship, and career prospects. “The uncertainty that such changes entail may cause repetitive negative thinking. That’s why I see worrying and ruminating among students as an important point for concern, because we want to prevent a situation in which someone lets their repetitive negative thoughts get the better of them,” says Ikani.
Text: Marieke van Ruiten. This article previously appeared (in Dutch) on the website of the Algemeen Nijmeegs Studentenblad. Photo: Francisco Gonzalez via Unsplash