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It is a process that psychologists have been studying for decades because it appears in so many emotional experiences. Early work by psychologist Gerald Nolen-Hoeksema discovered that when people are worried, upset, or left with unresolved emotions, their minds can get caught in a cycle of repetitive thinking. They keep replaying what was said, what wasnât said, and all the âwhat ifs.â For instance, you might be replaying a text that never got sent, thinking about how someone reacted in a way that you didnât see coming, or going back through memories of a relationship that never got a chance to get closure.
This is why, even when you are trying to focus on something else, the same thoughts keep resurfacing in your mind. Itâs because your mind is, in essence, stuck in a loop until some sort of emotional resolution is reached.
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The Feeling of Missing Someone
Sometimes a person keeps popping up in your head for the most obvious reason. You simply miss that, and thatâs that. Maybe you only realized how much you took them for granted after they were gone. Now that they are absent, you keep getting back to the day-to-day things you shared, such as random text messages, jokes that only they found funny, and even the tiny acts you two shared.
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