The consequences of dysphoric rumination

Abstract

Many people believe that when they become depressed or dysphoric they should try to focus inwardly and evaluate their feelings and their situation in order to gain self-insight and find solutions that might ultimately resolve their problems and relieve their depressive symptoms (Lyubomirsky & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1993; Papageorgiou & Wells, 2001a, b; Watkins & Baracaia,2001). Challenging this assumption, numerous studies over the past two decades have shown that repetitive rumination about the implications of one’s depressive symptoms actually maintains those symptoms, impairs one’s ability to solve problems, and ushers in a host of negative consequences (see Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991, 1996, for reviews). In this chapter, we describe in detail a ruminative style of responding to depressed mood and review both experimental and correlational research documenting its many adverse consequences.