132 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
Maladaptive Emotion Regulation Sk ills
As we mentioned earlier, “repetitive negative thinking”
is a broad term used to describe worry and rumination.
Worry is an abstract, verbal-linguistic process (talking to
yourself, but in your head rather than out loud) oriented
toward future threats, whereas rumination is a passive, per-
sistent focus on the meaning and consequences of distress-
ing feelings and situations (Borkovec, Alcaine, and Behar
2004; Nolen- Hoeksema, Wisco, and Lyubomirsky 2008).
Worry and rumination are common features of anxiety
and occur in various contexts depending on the type of
anxiety you have. For example, if you have an upcoming root
canal, you might worry that the numbing medication won’t
work as well as you would like, you might worry about the
procedure itself, or you might worry about your pain after-
ward. Rumination, on the other hand, is like getting together
with friends to analyze a football game after a major loss for
your team. It can also happen following anxiety- provoking
situations, such as after a social interaction. Imagine accom-
panying your significant other to a wedding reception where
you don’t know any of the other guests. W hen your date dis-
appears to talk to his or her friends, you escape to the bath-
room or some other private area to avoid feeling insecure
rather than make conversation with strangers. At home later
that night, you might mentally review your perceived social
failures during the reception. This form of mental review is
fundamentally unproductive and unhelpful, because it likely
would lead to undesirable emotional experiences or negative
thoughts about yourself.
Worry and rumination may initially seem harmless, but
both are involved in the generation of negative mood states.