Rumination is the focused attention on the symptoms of one’s distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions
Both rumination and worry are associated with anxiety and other negative emotional states; however, its measures have not been unified. In the Response Styles Theory proposed by Nolen-Hoeksema (1998),rumination is defined as the “compulsively focused attention on the symptoms of one’s distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions”. Because the Response Styles Theory has been empirically supported, this model of rumination is the most widely used conceptualization.
Other theories, however, have proposed different definitions for rumination. For example, in the Goal Progress Theory, rumination is conceptualized not as a reaction to a mood state, but as a “response to failure to progress satisfactorily towards a goal”