Overthinking check (RRS-10)
A quick, private check based on the RRS-10. Free, scored on your device, and yours to keep.
What this check measures
The RRS-10 asks ten questions about what you do when you feel low, and splits overthinking into two parts that researchers found behave quite differently. Brooding is moody circling, the kind that turns the same ground over without moving. Reflection is deliberate, the kind that turns inward to work something out. Five questions measure each, they are scored separately, and there is no combined total, because the two do not mean the same thing.
How the scoring works
Each answer is worth 1 for almost never up to 4 for almost always, so each part runs from 5 to 20. There is no pass mark. The researchers who built this short form never published a clinical cut-off. Rather than invent one, your score is shown against the average for the group it was tested on:
| Score | What it means |
|---|---|
| 5 to 20 | The whole range for this part. |
| 9.4 | The average for the comparison group: 1,130 adults, Treynor et al. (2003), Table III. |
| Score | What it means |
|---|---|
| 5 to 20 | The whole range for this part. |
| 9.83 | The average for the comparison group: 1,130 adults, Treynor et al. (2003), Table III. |
What it cannot tell you
This cannot diagnose anything, and it cannot tell you whether your overthinking is a problem, because only you know what it costs you. It also cannot separate overthinking from whatever sits underneath it, which is often low mood, anxiety or grief. A score is a starting point for a conversation with a doctor or a counsellor, not a conclusion.
This is a free, ten-question check based on the RRS-10, the short form of the Ruminative Responses Scale. It separates two kinds of overthinking that behave differently. Brooding is moody circling, going over the same ground. Reflection is the deliberate kind that tries to work something out. It takes about two minutes and is scored the moment you finish, privately, in your browser. There is no pass mark: no clinical cut-off was ever published for this scale, so your two scores are shown against the averages for the group it was tested on.
Questions people ask
Is overthinking a mental illness?
No. Rumination is a habit of thinking, not a diagnosis. It turns up alongside depression and anxiety often enough that researchers study it closely, and it is one of the more changeable parts of both.
Why two scores instead of one?
Because the two halves behave differently. In the research that produced this short form, brooding predicted low mood over time and reflection did not. Adding them together would hide the very difference that makes the check worth taking, so no combined score is shown.
Why is there no cut-off?
Because none was ever published for this scale. Some checks have a line the researchers drew and tested, and this one does not. Drawing our own would make the result look far more certain than it is, so your score is shown against the group average instead.
Who was the comparison group?
A randomly selected community sample of 1,130 adults from the Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose areas, interviewed twice over a year. They answered aloud to an interviewer rather than on a screen; when a later study gave the same people a written version, the two agreed closely.
Who sees my answers?
No one. Everything is scored in your browser, and nothing you choose is stored or sent anywhere.
Working on overthinking, with support
Intrusive thoughts & rumination therapy
This is a free screening tool, not a diagnosis. It can help you notice patterns and decide whether to reach out. Your answers stay on your device; nothing is sent or saved.