Autistic individuals might often find themselves stuck in negative thought loops that are difficult to break out of, also known as rumination.
Rumination is a type of repetitive thinking that focuses on distressing thoughts or dwelling on negative feelings and past events, often resulting in excessive worry, anxiety, and catastrophizing.
Rumination is a part of perseverative cognition which involves inflexible thinking, a key trait of autism.
Perseverative cognition is not typically negative, but it becomes an issue if it causes extreme stress that is difficult to move away from.
Examples of autistic rumination
Below are some examples of how rumination may present in autistic individuals:
Repetitive thinking
Autistic individuals may experience more repetitive thoughts compared to non-autistic individuals. This can involve having the same thoughts repeatedly, such as replaying a past conversation or worrying about a future event.
Examples:
"Did I talk too much about my interests?"
"Should I have said something different when my boss asked that question?"
"I should have responded differently when they made that joke"
Rumination on distress
Autistic people may ruminate more about their distress, similar to rumination in people with depression. This can involve dwelling on negative feelings, experiences, or perceived failures.
Examples:
"Last week at the grocery store was overwhelming. The lights were so bright, what if I have another meltdown?"
"The bus route changed and now I have to take a different path. What if I get lost? What if I'm late?"
Obsessive thinking
Autistic individuals may experience higher levels of obsessive thinking, which can be characterized by intrusive, unwanted thoughts that are difficult to control.
These thoughts can cause significant anxiety and distress and may lead to repetitive behaviors.
Examples:
Obsessive thoughts: Constantly analyzing past social interactions for mistakes, replaying conversations and worrying about having broken unwritten social rules.
Related behaviors: Over-preparing scripts for future interactions, avoiding similar social situations, intensely studying others' behavior to copy it.
Obsessive thoughts: "What if my routine needs to change? What if something unexpected happens? I won't be able to cope."
Related behaviors: Checking schedules repeatedly, creating backup plans, requiring extensive preparation before any change.
Anger rumination
Some research on autistic adolescents suggests that they might experience anger rumination more frequently than non-autistic adolescents.
This involves dwelling on feelings of anger and frustration, potentially leading to difficulties in emotional regulation and contributing to aggression and overall dysregulation.
Examples:
"I can't cope with this. My whole day is ruined now."
"Why was my friend looking at me like that? Is she mad at me? She has no right to be mad at me!"
Loops of concern
Autistic individuals may get stuck in “loops of concern” which are characterized by repetitive thoughts and worries about uncertainties.
These loops can be particularly distressing and challenging to break free from.
Examples:
"What if my doctor's appointment runs late? Then I'll miss my usual lunch time. If I miss lunch, my whole afternoon routine will be disrupted..."
"I need to learn everything about the airport I'm going to. What if I can't find my terminal? I need to find interior photos online so I know where everything is."
What causes autistic rumination?
Below are some possible reasons why autistic people may ruminate so much:
Repetitive behaviors
Repetitive behaviors are a core sign of autism in the diagnostic criteria. Researchers suggest that this tendency for repetition may also extend to repetitive thinking.
They found that autistic individuals reported a higher number of repetitive thoughts compared to non-autistic individuals, suggesting that repetitive thinking is a possible feature of autism, which in turn, can contribute to rumination.
Cognitive inflexibility
Autistic individuals often have difficulty switching between different thoughts and tasks and suppressing unwanted thoughts or actions.
These difficulties could make it harder for autistic individuals to disengage from repetitive, negative thought patterns, leading to prolonged rumination.
Emotional sensitivity
Autistic individuals might experience emotions more intensely or have difficulty understanding and expressing their emotions, a phenomenon known as alexithymia.
This difficulty in processing emotions could lead to prolonged dwelling on negative feelings or confusing social interactions, fueling rumination.
Sensory processing differences
Sensory sensitivities are common in autistic individuals which could lead to over-anticipating potentially stressful environments.
For example, an autistic person may ruminate and over-anticipate going to a concert if they are sensitive to bright lights, loud noises, and crowds.
Insistence on sameness and predictability
Insistence on sameness is part of the diagnostic criteria for autism and may present as a desire to make sense of an unpredictable world.
This strong drive to understand and to create predictability can result in over-analyzing uncertainties and ruminating on all possible outcomes.
Social information processing
Social situations can be challenges for many autistic people and they may spend an excessive amount of time trying to understand people and why they do things.
They may need to actively decode social rules and interactions that neurotypical individuals process automatically.
This can result in ruminating on, and over-analyzing social interactions long after the interaction ends.
Heightened pattern recognition
Autistic people are often skilled in recognizing patterns such as recognizing subtle shifts in another’s behavior, which can lead to trying to find logical explanations.
For example, if an autistic person notices a difference in their friend’s tone of voice, they may start ruminating on why.
They may also analyze their own behavior for something they may have done wrong to cause this change in their friend.
Negative past experiences
Previous social or sensory challenges may increase vigilance and rumination on possible future challenges.
They may have had an experience of misunderstanding someone which can lead them to more carefully process and analyze future situations to ensure this does not happen again.
Autistic rumination Vs. Rumination in mental health disorders
Obviously, rumination is not unique to autism. Many of the rumination behaviors discussed can also be seen in anxiety and depressive disorders for instance.
Making distinct comparisons between autistic rumination and mental health disorders is complicated since it is also very common for autistic people to have coexisting disorders.
These can affect each other in complex ways so it is hard to label which rumination behavior is due to autism, and which is due to anxiety or depression.
While mental health disorders often involve fear-driven rumination, autistic rumination primarily serves as a way to process information and understand experiences.
This key distinction manifests differently across various conditions:
Social anxiety rumination centers on fear of judgment, while autistic social rumination focuses on analyzing and decoding social rules.
Generalized anxiety involves catastrophizing about potential negative outcomes, whereas autistic rumination on uncertainties stems from a need to create predictability.
Depressive rumination dwells on negative self-evaluation, while autistic analysis of past experiences aims to extract patterns and meaning.
Phobic rumination revolves around irrational fear responses to specific triggers, whereas autistic rumination on sensory factors serves to prepare for genuine environmental challenges.
OCD rumination involves intrusive thoughts and preventing perceived harm through rituals, while autistic focus on routines stems from a need for order and understanding.
Managing autistic rumination
The purpose of addressing autistic rumination is not to change the core traits of autism, but to help manage distressing thoughts that can impact an autistic person’s wellbeing.
As an autistic person, I will share some tips for managing rumination that work well for me, and suggest tips that could work well for others. Keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for you.
Practice awareness of your thoughts
An awareness that you are ruminating because of your autistic traits might be helpful in managing these thoughts.
Try to consciously notice when you are having ruminating thoughts and either write down or verbalize what you are ruminating on. For example: “I am ruminating on a social mistake.”
Now, add a logical explanation to your rumination. For example, “I am ruminating about a social mistake because my brain tries to make sense of social cues.”
The idea behind this is to try to switch from distressing thoughts to thinking about why those thoughts are happening.
Practice acceptance
While we may ruminate on some things that are solvable, there are instances where we ruminate on things we have little or no control over.
If we have little or no control, there is nothing that ruminating will be able to fix aside from making us more distressed.
It might take a lot of practice, but try to accept that some things are unpredictable.
Think about a time in the past when something unpredictable happened, but you were able to manage it.
Consider what you did well and what you learned from this experience. Give yourself credit for how resilient you can be.
Confide in others
If you feel safe doing so, you can verbalize to others when you are ruminating and why. You might say things like:
“My mind keeps going over and over these changes to my schedule. Can I explain what I’m thinking? It might help me work through it.”
“I’m having trouble moving past this interaction. Could you help me understand if I interpreted it correctly?”
This can be especially helpful with trusted friends, family members, or professionals who understand autism.
They might offer new perspectives or simply provide a supportive space for you to process your thoughts aloud.
Even if they don’t provide solutions, the act of verbalizing your thoughts can sometimes help break the cycle of internal repetition.
What would you tell a ruminating friend?
When stuck in a ruminating loop, it can be hard to think clearly. Try to take a step back and pretend that you are talking to a friend who is ruminating.
What would you say to them? What reassurance can you provide?
You may find you can think more logically when you have removed yourself from the situation and apply it to someone else.
Write it all down!
Putting ruminating thoughts on paper can help to “get it off your chest.”
This does not have to be neat since this is solely for you to see. Try to write about what specifically you are ruminating on and why, and what feelings you are having.
If problem-solving is possible, try to break down the problem into manageable steps and address what actions you should take.
Use this time to make lists, mindmaps, and diagrams to visualize patterns and connections.
The goal isn’t to stop rumination entirely but to make it more productive and less distressing.
Have a buffer activity
Redirect some of your time to an enjoyable activity of your choice. This could be one of your special interests, your favorite TV show, or learning a new skill.
While this is easier said than done, think of this as taking a short break from your thoughts. You are postponing the thoughts for now, to return to them later on.
You might find that the enjoyable activity helped you to either forget to ruminate or reduce the ruminating time. But, even if you do go back to ruminating, your mind has had a healthy break for a while.
Channel your analysis skills
Leading on from the previous tip, you could try to redirect your repetitive thinking to something less distressing.
Your ability to focus intensely and notice patterns can be particularly valuable when learning about new subjects – whether it’s studying space exploration, analyzing historical events, understanding ecological systems, or diving into any other area that captures your interest.
This redirects your mind’s natural processing style toward external topics rather than internal concerns, while still engaging your detail-oriented thinking patterns.
Trust your social analysis limit
When you find yourself analyzing social interactions repeatedly or worrying about having upset someone, set a reasonable time limit for consideration.
If you can’t identify a specific issue after a few minutes of reflection, remember:
Most people will tell you directly if you’ve done something hurtful. If they haven’t said anything, it’s likely that:
- Nothing is actually wrong
- Their behavior changes are unrelated to you
- You may be misreading subtle differences in their normal behavior
Rather than exhausting yourself with endless analysis, it’s okay to ask directly: “I’ve noticed you seem different lately – have I done something to upset you? I want to make sure I’m understanding things correctly.”
This places responsibility on the other person to directly communicate their feelings so you’re not stuck in a loop of constantly trying to decode others’ behavior.
Take time for self-care
It goes without saying that self-care is important no matter whether you are ruminating or not.
It can be especially helpful to take care of yourself when stuck in unhelpful thought loops such as spending time in nature, focusing on exercise goals, getting enough sleep, and talking to trusted people.
Stay clear of alcohol, caffeine, or other unhelpful substances that may be very tempting to help cope with the problem but can worsen things in the long term.
References
Cooper, K., & Russell, A. (2024). Insistence on sameness, repetitive negative thinking and mental health in autistic and non-autistic adults. Autism, 13623613241275468. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241275468
Cooper, K., Russell, A., Calley, S., Chen, H., Kramer, J., & Verplanken, B. (2022). Cognitive processes in autism: Repetitive thinking in autistic versus non-autistic adults. Autism, 26(4), 849-858. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211034380
Crespi, B. (2021). Pattern unifies autism. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 621659. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.621659
Hallett, S. (2021, September 14). Loops of Concern. Medium. Retrieved 2024, December 2, from: https://medium.com/@sonnyhallett/loops-of-concern-ff792eebad03
Patel, S., Day, T. N., Jones, N., & Mazefsky, C. A. (2017). Association between anger rumination and autism symptom severity, depression symptoms, aggression, and general dysregulation in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 21(2), 181-189. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316633566
Williams, Z. J., McKenney, E. E., & Gotham, K. O. (2021). Investigating the structure of trait rumination in autistic adults: A network analysis. Autism, 25(7), 2048-2063. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211012855
