Repetitive negative thinking is a major element of psychological disorders. Clinically concerning levels of anxiety, depression, and anger all carry with them repetitive thoughts that serve to increase the emotional distress associated with those disorders. The emotional distress associated with clinical disorders leads to people falling back into patterns of negative repetitive thinking and this pattern continues as the emotional distress endures. Common types of repetitive negative thinking associated with psychological disorders include “I’m a failure and this problem just proves it"; “It’s my responsibility to fix this problem just as it’s my responsibility to fix every problem"; “I’m angry and I have to do something about it”; and “I have to be the one to make things better here."

Even though the type of negative thinking differs from person to person, the pattern involved remains that same: A person with a psychological condition faces some type of challenge. This challenge leads to emotional distress and that emotional distress leads to the person feeling uncomfortable. Because of a historical pattern of negative experiences with emotional distress the person feels an immediate need to try and address this discomfort. This is often referred to as the “fight-or-flight” response based on the biological response common among human and nonhuman animals to respond immediately to situations that are perceived as a threat.

What distinguishes how people with psychological disorders respond to emotional distress is how desperately the person wants to make the emotional discomfort stop. This level of intensity associated with emotional distress leads to the person falling back on familiar patterns. Research supports that the most effective way of addressing feelings of emotional distress is a step-by-step approach in which the person thinks out the most effective ways of handling a problem. This could include walking through the most effective ways of thinking about a problem. But emotional distress in psychological disorders leads people to rely on familiar behaviors rather than look for the most effective behaviors. Anxiety, depression, and anger in clinical disorders often become so distressing that the person does not look at the immediate facts (e.g. “There’s nothing I can do about his now”) and focus instead on familiar negative patterns: “There is a problem and it is my responsibility to fix it right now."

When you look at how a person often falls into repetitive negative thinking when faced with emotional distress you realize that this symptom of psychological disorders is very much a habit. It becomes a behavior that the person falls back on because it is familiar and in that way, it's comforting. Like many habits, such as smoking, it can be both comforting and not good for the person at the same time. It is not even necessary for the person to know how the pattern developed for them to see it as familiar and comforting. And just as with other habits, the main way to change it is for the person to develop another habit that addresses the same problems but is more effective and healthier.

Repetitive behaviors, like repetitive negative statements and other habits, exist throughout the animal world. What is interesting is that repetitive behaviors in nonhuman animals are associated exclusively with problems or some sort of unusual change in the animal’s environment (Sulkama, Salonen, Mikkola, Hakanen, Puurunen, Araujo & Hanne, 2022). Major physiological changes, low levels of exercise, family changes, and neurological conditions are all factors that can contribute to repetitive behaviors. It is only when something changes, and particularly when something is wrong, that animals tend to rely on repetitive behaviors that are familiar if not effective. When nonhuman animals function in a healthy way, they approach each situation individually and look for the behavior most likely to be effective for that specific situation. Human animals also tend to function healthily in similar ways.

Breaking out of the pattern of repetitive negative thinking requires being conscious of the thinking as it occurs and using that awareness to develop a different pattern. This involves being specific about the thinking involved and trying to put it into words, if possible. Those words can then be used to determine what is least effective about what the person is saying to themselves. For example, looking at the statement, “I am facing another problem and that makes me a loser,” can be challenged because most people would agree that one loss, or even several, does not make someone a “loser." And thinking that a person has to respond to a situation immediately just because it is making them angry can be recognized quickly as unrealistic if the person is aware that there really is nothing they can do.

Becoming conscious of a negative thinking pattern is essential for taking steps to break it. Repeating more realistic and rational thinking to challenge and replace repetitive negative thinking is also essential for breaking this problematic pattern. What makes all this difficult is that it takes a lot of effort and a lot of repeating of thinking meant to replace the problematic pattern.