The crossword solution for the term 'returning to a former state' is 'REGRESSION'. REGRESSION is a term used in psychology and statistics to describe the process of returning to an earlier stage of development. It is often used to describe the process of reverting to a previous behavior or attitude after a period of change. In psychology, REGRESSION is often used to describe a person's return to an earlier stage of development, such as a child regressing to an infantile state when faced with stress. In statistics, REGRESSION is used to describe the relationship between two or more variables, such as the relationship between income and education level.