Minutes

#694 - Negative Thought Loops

Lopez Janet M., Lohmann, Sophie, Mekawi, Yara, Hughes, Colleen, Sunderrajan, Aashna, Tengshe, Chinmayi, Rajesh, Aishwarya, & Albarracín, Dolores. (2026). Perseverative negative thinking, self-control, and executive functioning in symptoms of depression and anxiety: A comprehensive meta-analysis of competing models. Clinical Psychological Science, 14(1), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026251344172

Ever gotten stuck replaying your same negative thoughts repeatedly? This is called “rumination.“ Researchers examined how self-control, rumination, and emotional distress relate to depression and anxiety.

Psychology researchers combined data from 223 studies with more than 50,000 college-educated participants. Self-control, executive functioning, rumination, worry, depression, and anxiety were analyzed using questionnaires and cognitive tasks. The goal was to understand which psychological processes tend to come first and which ones predicted later emotional distress.

Results? Lower self-control most often predicted higher depression and anxiety over time, which then increased rumination and worry. In other words, emotional distress often appears before repetitive negative thinking becomes severe. Self-control measures predicted mental health outcomes more strongly than traditional executive functioning tasks..

This indicates rumination does not directly cause depression and anxiety. Instead, struggling to regulate emotions and impulses may begin the cycle. Once distress increases, negative thinking becomes harder to stop.

So how do I stop the cycle? When negative thoughts spiral, focusing only on “thinking differently” is rarely enough. Building emotional regulation, coping skills, and self-control habits may help interrupt the cycle before it grows stronger.

Written by Dan Peacock B.S.