Ive been told my main problem is rumination. My problem is its hard to know what rumination i shoukd discard. What counts as rumination and what is just negative thinking?

Sometimes I can identify that I’m ruminating by asking myself “am I doing this to try to force anxiety to go down?” If the answer is yes, then I try to gently step away from ruminating. Because ultimately I know ruminating never makes the fear go away

If you are spinning with the same though, find yourself arguing with a thought, can't seem to let go and think of different scenarios related to a specific thought, that's rumination. It takes practice to notice and get out of the roller coaster of thoughts. Be patient and don't judge yourself. Journaling can be a good start to identify some of your thinking patterns. Ask yourself some questions. And answer them honestly even if the answer is I don't know (valid answer btw).