Rumination
Repetitive, circular thinking that produces distress but no resolution.
Rumination is the mind chewing the same thought over and over without getting anywhere. It feels productive — like you’re working the problem — but it’s the opposite: research links it to worse mood and more anxiety, not better solutions. The tell is that it points to no action, only more thinking. Scheduled worry and cognitive reframing are two of the better-evidenced ways to interrupt the loop.
Related tools
The Worry Timer
Give every worry an appointment: capture it, set when you'll deal with it, and run a contained worry session with a timer. A classic CBT technique, private in your browser.
Cognitive Distortion Identifier
Write the thought, find the distortion: an interactive guide to the classic cognitive distortions with reframing prompts for each. Private, in your browser.
The Weather Check
Five questions that tell a real worry from a false alarm: target, proportion, sleep test, action test, exit. From Chapter 8 of The Ballast Principle.