Thank you for listening and supporting This Might Help.

This week's episode is all about overthinking or "repetitive negative thinking", including ruminating and worrying. Overthinking is so common, especially for young women, and in this episode we unpack what can lead to overthinking, why our brains get stuck in this pattern and talk through short-term and longer-term strategies to help reduce overthinking.

You can find us on socials @thismighthelppodcast - ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok

The full video version of this episode is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@thismighthelppodcast

Some of the key research we chat about can be found below:

Ehring, T., & Watkins, E. R. (2008). Repetitive negative thinking as a transdiagnostic process. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 1(3), 192–205. https://doi.org/10.1680/ijct.2008.1.3.192

Johnson, D. P., & Whisman, M. A. (2013). Gender differences in rumination: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(4), 414–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.03.019

Koster, E. H. W., De Lissnyder, E., Derakshan, N., & De Raedt, R. (2011). Understanding depressive rumination from a cognitive science perspective: The impaired disengagement hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(1), 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.08.005

Lilly, K. J., Howard, C., Zubielevitch, E., & Sibley, C. G. (2023). Thinking twice: Examining gender differences in repetitive negative thinking across the adult lifespan. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1239112. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1239112

Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R. & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. Rumination Reconsidered: A Psychometric Analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research 27, 247–259 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023910315561

These resources were also used for this episode:

https://www.ted.com/talks/guy_winch_how_to_turn_off_work_thoughts_during_your_free_time

https://www.headspace.com/articles/stop-overthinking-start-living

If you or a loved one needs further support, we strongly encourage you to speak with your GP, psychologist, or another qualified healthcare professional.

Additional support can be found through:

Beyond Blue - https://www.beyondblue.org.au 1300 22 4636 

LifeLine - https://988lifeline.org/get-help/ 13 11 14 

Headspace - https://headspace.org.au 1800 650 890 (for those aged 25 or under)