The ''perseverative cognition hypothesis''<ref name="BGT2006" /> holds that stressful events begin to affect people's [[health]] when they think about them repetitively or continuously (that is, '[[wiktionary:perseveration|perseverate]] [[Cognition|cognitively]]').
Stressful events and the direct physiological responses to them are often too short in duration to cause bodily harm. MoreBut importantly,people manycan stressfulhave eventscontinuing arethoughts merelyabout worriedevents aboutfrom the past, or fearedabout in thepotential future,whileevents (some theyof oftenwhich do not happen, or do not have the feared consequences. Nevertheless), and the body reacts with prolonged physiologicalto responses tothe continuousrepeated thoughts (perseverative cognition) aboutwith theseprolonged stressorsphysiological stress responses. Therefore, it is the perseverative cognition, and not the stressors that can eventually lead to disease. In scientific terms, it is said that perseverative cognition is a [[wikt:Special:Search/mediator|mediator]] of the detrimental effects of [[stress (psychological)|stress]] on one's health. Since its publication scientific evidence for this hypothesis has been accumulating.<ref name="VBGT2010" /><ref name="GS2006">{{cite journal | last1 = Geurts | first1 = S.A. | last2 = Sonnentag | first2 = S. | year = 2006 | title = Recovery as an explanatory mechanism in the relation between acute stress reactions and chronic health impairment | journal = Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health| volume = 32 | issue = 6| pages = 482–92 | doi = 10.5271/sjweh.1053 | pmid = 17173204 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="LC2009">{{cite journal | last1 = Larsen | first1 = B.A | last2 = Christenfeld | first2 = N.J.S. | year = 2009 | title = Cardiovascular Disease and Psychiatric Comorbidity: The Potential Role of Perseverative Cognition | journal = Cardiovascular Psychiatry and Neurology | volume = 2009| pages = 1–8| doi = 10.1155/2009/791017 | pmid = 20029626 | pmc = 2790803 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="FMBK2012">{{cite journal | last1 = Flaxman | first1 = P. E. | last2 = Ménard | first2 = J. | last3 = Bond | first3 = F. W. | last4 = Kinman | first4 = G. | year = 2012 | title = Academics' experiences of a respite from work: Effects of self-critical perfectionism and perseverative cognition on postrespite well-being | url = http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/6323/1/Flaxman%20et%20al%20%282012%29%20JAP.pdf| journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 97 | issue = 4| pages = 854–865 | doi = 10.1037/a0028055 | pmid=22545621}}</ref>
