This paper presents a structural model of rumination arising under conditions of emotional investment and unresolved external input. Based on real-time observation, the cognitive system transitions from multi-path scenario simulation to constrained binary evaluation, producing oscillation between opposing outcomes without resolution. In the absence of new information, the system progresses through identifiable phases, including uncertainty stabilisation, speculative narrative generation, defensive cognitive reframing, and reflective integration. The model further identifies temporal persistence and a desynchronisation between cognitive and physiological processes, wherein cognitive stabilisation precedes bodily regulation. A key observation includes the role of shallow breathing as an implicit regulatory mechanism reducing emotional intensity during sustained uncertainty. A formal framework is proposed describing trigger, constraint, oscillation, temporal evolution, and regulation mechanisms. The model defines a termination boundary at the point where structural progression ceases and cognitive activity becomes repetitive without introducing new dynamics. This work is consistent with the Paton System framework, which prioritises admissibility and constraint as preconditions for system continuation. It provides a grounded cognitive instantiation of admissibility-based continuation under uncertainty.
Andrew John Paton (Fri,) studied this question.
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