Gum

To perseverate means to worry, obsess, ruminate, chew on the same thoughts over and over endlessly.

At best, a nervous habit.

At worst, a painful mental compulsion that consumes time, energy and peace of mind.

It’s also a controlling behavior, in that it assumes that going over and over the same mental ground will somehow lead one to feeling better – discover new answers, or yield relief from anxiety.

What it’s not is problem solving.

Problem solving requires behaviors like analyzing, reinterpreting, getting more information, or asking for help. Even giving up can be a kind of problem solving.

But perseveration avoids all these approaches.

Why?

Usually the perseverator is scared.  He fears that serious problem solving will somehow make him feel worse.  Scared, for example, that he may find new information disheartening, or that asking for help will make him feel embarrassed or inadequate.

So he persists with perseveration.

Which, after a certain point, is equivalent to chewing the same stick of gum for four hours straight.

You get nothing from it but tired.