Overthinking & Rumination Therapy

Maybe you've just had an evening where the thoughts won't stop. The unfinished conversations and imagined outcomes spiraling into the night. Or maybe you've had to make a difficult decision or have a hard conversation and now you feel like your stuck in a loop of thought.

As a therapist in Eugene, Oregon, I find overthinking and rumination to be among the most common experiences that bring people to therapy. I approach them through an existential-humanistic framework, one which views our thoughts as expressions of our lives rather than just problems to be solved.

The Difference Between Overthinking and Rumination

The two words overthinking and rumination are often used interchangeably. Both terms name thoughts that loop and twist in on themselves, but when we look a bit closer at what they mean, we can see that they differ in how they name our thoughts' relationship to time.

Overthinking mostly feels like a kind of projection into the future, like a mind running ahead of a decision, or as if thinking something over and over will give you more insight into a situation or outcome that can't yet be known.

Rumination, on the other hand, looks backward in time. The experience is of thinking about something that happened in the past again and again. This might be a conversation, a mistake, or even trauma.

Why Our Thoughts Loop

The loops of thought within us are often a response to uncertainty and anxiety, but they can also be deeply connected to our identity and to other mental health concerns such as depression, substance use, and grief. Sometimes we've learned from an early age that staying a few steps ahead can help us feel safe, and with time, thinking about the future can become a core aspect of one's identity.

For others, looping thoughts sit more in the space of rumination, and usually involve something unresolved that happened in the past. For example, it might be an experience that was never fully felt, such as a loss, an ending, or a moment of hurt or shame. Another common example is rumination that follows a conflict that has left you feeling unsettled about what will happen next.

Thinking as Identity

For those with strong intellects or creative minds, analysis and thinking can become one of the most reliable ways of engaging with the world. This has positive benefits to our lives, but at the same time, when we identify too strongly with our thoughts or have trouble setting them down, they can cause problems. Loosening your identification with thought can feel stressful or even anxiety-provoking at first, and in turn it can raise deep questions about control, performance, and who you would be without the constant work of turning things over within the mind.

How I Work With Overthinking

As an existential-humanistic therapist, I'm interested in what your thinking protects, responds to, or is trying to complete or understand. In practice this often means slowing down to notice what's underneath the analysis. A core aspect of my work is bringing awareness to the body. It can be easy to overlook when lost in thought, but when we slow down, it's often at the root of where the tension starts.

Overthinking and Rumination Therapy in Eugene, Oregon

If something here reflects what you're experiencing, you're welcome to reach out. I offer therapy for overthinking and rumination in Eugene, Oregon, with both in-person and telehealth sessions available statewide.

You may also want to explore anxiety & inner tension, choice & direction, depression & low mood, or learn more about who I work with and my approach through existential-humanistic therapy.