Ruminative Thoughts

Until recently, most theory and research in social information processing has focused attention on the cognitive activity that underlies responses to stimulus information presented in the immediate situation being investigated. In contrast, people's thoughts outside the laboratory often concern life events that either have occurred in the past or are likely to occur in the future. Thoughts about such past and future events can be spontaneous and, once elicited, can affect the ability to respond effectively to the demands of the present situation with which one is confronted. This ninth volume in this series focuses on this type of cognitive activity and examines both its determinants and consequences. The lead article, by Leonard Martin and Abraham Tesser, develops a theoretical formulation of ruminative thinking that conceptualizes rumination as a class of conscious thought with a common instrumental theme that recurs in the absence of immediate environmental demands. The authors also give particular attention to the ways in which perceptions of the consequences of past and present events for long-range goal attainment affect both controlled and uncontrolled thinking about these events. They also examine the implications of their theory for the ability to suppress unwanted thoughts, the interplay of emotion and cognition, and the cognitive consequences or rumination for the performance of daily life activities. The entire formulation integrates a number of cognitive phenomena that are not usually considered within a single theoretical framework. The companion chapters, many written by the field's foremost contributors to the literature on emotion and cognition, suggest important refinements and extensions of the conceptualization proposed in the target article. They also make important conceptual contributions in their own right, covering topics that include the role of mental models in cognitive functioning, the dynamics of thought suppression and attentional inhibition, stress and coping, personality correlates of ruminative thought, and attitudes and persuasion. As a result, this volume makes a valuable contribution to research and theory not only in social cognition but also in numerous other areas.

Does the idea of thinking positively sound like the devil inviting you into the depths of hell? Those of us who suffer from anxiety, depression and rumination know that "thinking positively" is easier said than done. We reject it by rolling our eyes and dismissing the idea because for some reason, it just doesn't feel good to think positively. Why is it that your mind is rejecting an idea that you know is probably good for you? The answer is the path of least resistance. Your Brain Is Like A City With Roads In your city, you have positive buildings (aka positive thoughts) and negative buildings (negative thoughts). Every time you think negatively, you build a road to a negative building. Every time you think positively, you build a road to a positive building. If you're always thinking about negative things, the roads leading to your negative buildings will be nicely paved highways with no speed limit. They will be your paths of least resistance. Then, someone like me (hello!) comes a long and says "you should think positively" which means, you should go to a positive building in Brain City. You'll think about that for a moment and then realize... the roads to the positive buildings are no good! They are unpaved dirt roads that are windy and uphill. They are the path of maximum resistance because you haven't spent any time building those roads. If you are depressed, anxious or suffer from rumination, your roads to positive buildings are not fun to drive on and when you drive on them, it won't be easy. You have a lot of work to do to build those positive roads, but once you get them all built up - your negative roads won't be so tempting. This Book Will Teach You To Build Positive Roads You will learn: -The scientifically proven reasons why you ruminate and have anxiety -The easiest ways to control your thoughts -The differences between unhealthy rumination and healthy rumination -Step by Step methods on how to turn unhealthy rumination into healthy thoughts -The tools you need to make positive thinking easy -How to Stop THINKING about your life and start LIVING it Start learning the tools you need to reach peace of mind, TODAY.

Advancing our understanding of the cognitive underpinnings of psychopathology, this is the first volume dedicated exclusively to the role of UITs (unwanted intrusive thoughts) across a wide range of psychological disorders. This volume will inform the work of researchers and clinicians alike. In addition, the scope and scientific grounding of the book make it an excellent resource for students in graduate clinical training programs to use in their studies and throughout their careers. It will serve as a unique supplemental text in courses in psychotherapy, abnormal psychology and psychopathology, and cognitive-behavioral theory.

Rumination (recyclic negative thinking), is now recognised as important in the development, maintenance and relapse of recurrence of depression. For instance, rumination has been found to elevate, perpetuate and exacerbate depressed mood, predict future episodes of depression, and delay recovery during cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is one of the most effective treatments for depression. However, depressive relapse and recurrence following cognitive therapy continue to be a significant problem. An understanding of the psychological processes which contribute to relapse and recurrence may guide the development of more effective interventions. This is a major contribution to the study and treatment of depression which reviews a large body of research on rumination and cognitive processes, in depression and related disorders, with a focus on the implications of this knowledge for treatment and clinical management of these disorders. * First book on rumination in depressive and emotional disorders * Contributors are the leaders in the field * First editor is a rising researcher and clinician with specialist interest in depression, and second editor is world renowned for his work on cognitive therapy of emotional disorders

Where do spontaneous thoughts come from? It may be surprising that the seemingly straightforward answers "from the mind" or "from the brain" are in fact an incredibly recent understanding of the origins of spontaneous thought. For nearly all of human history, our thoughts - especially the most sudden, insightful, and important - were almost universally ascribed to divine or other external sources. Only in the past few centuries have we truly taken responsibility for their own mental content, and finally localized thought to the central nervous system - laying the foundations for a protoscience of spontaneous thought. But enormous questions still loom: what, exactly, is spontaneous thought? Why does our brain engage in spontaneous forms of thinking, and when is this most likely to occur? And perhaps the question most interesting and accessible from a scientific perspective: how does the brain generate and evaluate its own spontaneous creations? Spontaneous thought includes our daytime fantasies and mind-wandering; the flashes of insight and inspiration familiar to the artist, scientist, and inventor; and the nighttime visions we call dreams. This Handbook brings together views from neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, phenomenology, history, education, contemplative traditions, and clinical practice to begin to address the ubiquitous but poorly understood mental phenomena that we collectively call 'spontaneous thought.' In studying such an abstruse and seemingly impractical subject, we should remember that our capacity for spontaneity, originality, and creativity defines us as a species - and as individuals. Spontaneous forms of thought enable us to transcend not only the here and now of perceptual experience, but also the bonds of our deliberately-controlled and goal-directed cognition; they allow the space for us to be other than who we are, and for our minds to think beyond the limitations of our current viewpoints and beliefs.

From a leading clinician-researcher, this book presents an empirically tested approach for helping clients with severe and chronic depression by directly tackling negative rumination. Rumination-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (RFCBT) combines carefully adapted elements of CBT with imagery, visualization, and compassion-based techniques. The book provides everything needed to implement this 12-session approach, including numerous sample dialogues, a chapter-length case example, reflections and learning exercises for therapists, and 10 reproducible client handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Bringing together an array of outstanding contributors, this volume offers an in-depth examination of unintended thought--its underlying mechanisms, consequences in day-to-day life, and role in mental and emotional disturbance. Chapters describe a number of important phenomena that are influenced by unintended (and sometimes automatic, uncontrolled, or unconscious) ways of perceiving and interpreting the social and physical environment. These include inferences and judgments about self and others, stereotyping and prejudicial behavior, the impact of persuasive messages, long-term goals, responses to stress, and clinical depression. Key questions explored include the extent to which research findings in controlled settings bear on cognition and behavior outside the laboratory; how such constructs as intention and control of thought have been operationalized by investigators; and when self-control of unintended thought is possible or even desirable. Researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in cognitive, social, personality, and clinical psychology will find much of value in this unique work.