Gedankenspirale

spiral of thoughts, thought loop

noun ge-DAN-ken-shpi-rah-le Rare

Also means

rumination spiral

Usage Note

Gedankenspirale is a vivid modern compound for a self-reinforcing cycle of negative or repetitive thoughts. It is very common in popular psychology and everyday language about anxiety.

Examples

"Nachts geriet sie oft in eine Gedankenspirale, aus der sie nicht herauskam."

Natural Translation

At night she often fell into a spiral of thoughts she couldn't escape.

Literal Translation

At-nights got she often into a thought-spiral from which she not out-came.

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