compassionately	acknowledge	it:	“I	see	you,	negative	thinking.”	Then	bring
to	mind	a	more	
realistic
	
thought:	“Well,	at	least	they	invited	me.”
Problem-
	
Solving
In	psychology,	the	tendency	to	work	through	negative	events	by	replaying
them	again	and	again	in	one’s	mind	is	called	
rumination
	
.	Rumination	refers
to	internally	focusing	on	anxiety/upset,	as	well	as	all	the	reasons,	causes,
future	possibilities,	or	risks	that	could	occur	due	to	this	distress.	An	example
might	be	sitting	alone,	thinking	about	feeling	behind	your	peers	academically
and	employment	wise.	Then	your	mind	turns	to	worrying	the	situation	will
never	improve	and	imagining	a	future	of	always	feeling	inadequate	and
professionally	lacking.	Next,	you	self-criticize	about	why	this	happened	in	the
first	place.	And	then	you	may	begin	to	look	for	ways	to	avoid	people	who
might	ask	questions	about	what	you	do	for	a	living	or	where	you	went	to
college.
Many	people	worry	because	they	believe	they	are	problem-solving	and
engaging	in	a	constructive	process	about	the	issues	they	face.	Reminding
yourself	of	what	is	or	could	be	of	concern	comes	to	be	seen	as	a	way	of
avoiding	denial	and	catastrophe.