3 techniques to help reduce obsessive thoughts
Miscellaneous / / November 19, 2023
Just don't think about pink elephants, just don't think about pink elephants, just don't...
Alpina Publisher published a book by psychotherapist Sasha Bakhim “Psychotherapy for every day». Under the cover there are 100 different techniques that can positively affect your way of thinking and improve your quality of life. We are publishing an excerpt from the chapter “Carousel of Pink Elephants” about how to curb the thoughts that endlessly spin in your head.
Have you thought about pink elephants today? Not yet? Me too. But let's try a little experiment: for the next 10 seconds you can think about anything, but NOT about pink elephants! Ready? Then let's begin! (Seriously, try it!)
Surely the same thing happened to you as to me: as soon as you said to yourself: “Don’t you dare think about pink elephants!”, all the space around you was filled with pink elephants. Why on earth? Until then, it had never even occurred to us to remember them, but as soon as we consciously forbade ourselves from these thoughts, we are no longer able to think about anything else.
This phenomenon of the impossibility of suppressing thoughts shows how paradoxical our thinking apparatus is. If you run program A on a computer, it will execute it without even thinking about program B for a second.
We cannot consciously prohibit ourselves from thinking about something, because at the moment of the prohibition we already thought about it.
Quite confusing, isn't it?
Let's say you still belong to a small number of people who, for these 10 seconds, consciously forced themselves not to think about pink elephants. Indeed, for some time a thought can be blocked using concentration and purposeful distraction. However, the longer we are told not to think, the less likely we are to succeed. In addition, these efforts take a huge amount of energy. If, for example, your strategy is to think as hard as you can about blue elephants, imagine how that would fit into your daily activities and responsibilities. Extremely tiring, isn't it?
In therapy acceptance and responsibility (TPO) the metaphor of a beach ball is used for this situation. Imagine that on a fine summer day you are standing on the seashore; There’s an inflatable ball floating nearby, which for some reason irritates you terribly, you just can’t see it. You grab him and try to drown him. But it’s not so easy, because he has air inside. Whenever you manage to completely submerge the ball underwater, it escapes you and jumps to the surface. The deeper you push it, the more forcefully it jumps out of the water, trying to get into your face. Finally, with tremendous effort, you manage to push the ball into the water and hold it there for some time. But after this, the beach holiday itself becomes problematic. You won’t be able to swim, eat ice cream, or generally do everything that you probably came to the beach for.
Although we quickly realize that the “I shouldn’t think about it” strategy is doomed to failure, we still resort to it constantly in everyday life.
For example, I can try as hard as I want to forget the terrible Justin Bieber song, attached to me after the first listen, but this will only make it sink deeper into the subconscious. In the same way, worries about the future, memories of the past, or bitter thoughts about injustice will only take root in my head if I resolutely suppress them. The same principle works here as with the ball: the more persistently I forbid myself to think about unpleasant things, the more persistently these thoughts emerge in my consciousness. Banning thoughts doesn't help; on the contrary, it often only makes the situation worse. But how then to deal with these annoying thoughts, which in professional language are called “obsessive”?
First of all, it doesn’t hurt to understand where these obsessive thoughts come from. It cannot be that behind them there is an exclusively masochistic desire for self-torture!
Through thoughts, the subconscious is trying to point us to something very important to us and wants to make sure that we have not overlooked any risk and have weighed all possible decisions. Logical, isn't it? The only problem is that these thoughts, as a rule, are not very well structured and move in circles, like on a carousel. Every now and then they jump from one foggycatastrophic scenario to another, until everything is completely confused and we have a desire to stop thinking about it all. But soon everything starts again, and the carousel continues to spin.
In psychotherapy, three strategies are known to reduce the number of intrusive thoughts: thought stopping, acceptance and confrontation.
1. “Thought Stopping” Technique
Thought stopping is a long-standing behavioral therapy strategy in which unwanted ruminations are interrupt with an intentional and specific statement, gesture, or strong touch irritant.
For example, if you catch yourself having obsessive thoughts, say “Stop!” as loudly and decisively as possible. or repeat this word continuously until you lose your breath. Or imagine a big “STOP” sign that you stick into the ground right in front of your nose.
This can be reinforced with a gesture that will help you increase internal stability - give a signal to the subconscious that you are physically freeing yourself from obsessive thoughts. For example, not only figuratively, but also literally, hit the table with your fist (but so as not to knock off your wrist), stamp your foot, and if sitting, stand up quickly, place your feet shoulder-width apart, curl your toes and concentrate on contact with the ground (ground yourself).
Another way to stop thoughts is through strong sensory stimulation. For example, clap your hands as hard as you can, hold an ice cube in your hand, or stretch and release an elastic band on your wrist (of course, again, without self-harm), wash with cold water or bite into the pod chili pepper.
If you're raising an incredulous eyebrow right now and thinking that this all seems rather contradictory, then you're absolutely right.
It is impossible not to consciously think about something (for example, about pink elephants trumpeting Justin Bieber songs), at least for a long time: this follows from the paradox of thought suppression. Even the thought stopping technique does not allow you to suppress destructive thoughts indefinitely. But there is a technique that will help you briefly break out of the vicious circle of thinking.
Imagine for a moment that you are counting a bunch of change that you fished out of piggy banks […] And suddenly there is a loud explosion. You flinch and instinctively turn towards the source of the sound. After looking out the window and determining that the noise is coming from the old jalopy that your neighbor is trying to start, you return to your pile of coins. But how many did you count there? The roar knocked you out of balance.
The reason for this is innate reflex reactions. A reflex flinch is a mental and physical reaction to a certain stimulus. intensity, activating the autonomic nervous system (the body is put into a state of combat readiness). It may be followed by an indicative reaction. This reflex “What happened?” manifests itself in an automatic turn in the direction of a new irritant. Both reactions interrupt the thought process for some time in order to direct all available resources to a new, possibly threatening, stimulus.
The thought-stopping technique uses precisely these kinds of events to tear us away from the carousel of thoughts, at least for a moment. Of course, after such a stop, our worries and thoughts do not go away and can return at any moment. But if you interrupt the chain of obsessive thoughts, for example, by loudly shouting “STOP!” or a strong clap of your hands, there is an opportunity to get down for a while and look at this carousel from the side.
Adrian Wells' metacognitive therapy is based on critical thinking about thinking itself. Since obsessive thoughts rarely lead to constructive decisions, the very thought “What is important is what I think” is easily questioned in this case.
After stopping the carousel of thoughts using the techniques described, consciously ask yourself the question: is it likely that you will have breakthrough ideas if you indulge in such thoughts for another hour?
If you think it's great, continue. Continue by all means! But if you know from experience (or relying on common sense) that, most likely, even after an hour you will not have a solution, use a stop thoughts to pull yourself together and give the subconscious a signal that you want to spend your energy on something more meaningful than fruitless reflections. And immediately engage in constructive activity (for example, take a jogging or clean up the attic).
If obsessive thoughts continue to surface, you can try the thought-stopping technique again. As a result of repetition, a conditioning process is launched, allowing each time to reorient with greater ease, using an individual stop signal.
IN behavioral therapy This technique is used like this: if the client shows with a simple gesture that a destructive thought has just come into his head, the psychotherapist himself gives a stop signal. Yes, that’s right, the therapist shouts to the client “Stop!” (of course, only with the consent of the latter and in a trusting relationship). Surprisingly, this technique has actually proven effective in combating obsessive thoughts.
The same result can be achieved by practicing thought stopping on your own.
A completely different way of working with obsessive thoughts involves methods based on acceptance.
If the thought of a pink elephant becomes more intrusive the more I try to suppress it, then I can simply accept it. Not because I give up to the will of fate (what else, capitulate to Justin Bieber!), but because I realize: it is my acceptance that increases the likelihood of liberation from obsessive thoughts.
I can release the beach ball and let it return to the surface. Yes, in this case I will see him, but let him continue swimming. Let the waves drive him towards me or away from me. One way or another, I will be able to fully experience all the delights of a beach holiday. And at some point the ball may completely disappear from my field of vision.
2. Technique "Leaves in a stream"
The “Leaves in a Stream” exercise, based on a metaphorical approach, was developed by the founder of acceptance and responsibility therapy, Stephen Hayes.
If you are currently tormented by some obsessive thought, try doing this exercise right away. If you don’t have such thoughts, practice on pink elephants.
Make yourself comfortable. The exercise can be performed with your eyes closed or open - whichever you prefer.
Now conjure up the image of a stream. Imagine as clearly as possible both this stream and the forest through which it flows. Pay attention to everything you see, hear, smell and touch.
Imagine you are looking for a place on the bank of a stream to relax. Make sure you are comfortable here.
Every now and then leaves fall off nearby trees, fly down and fall on the water. Watch the leaves - they slowly float by.
If an unpleasant thought comes into your head, take note of it for a second, and then imagine using two fingers to remove it from your forehead and place it on one of the leaves. You can also imagine writing down your thoughts on a piece of paper or attaching a picture to it.
Now watch how the sheet with your thought slowly floats past. After this there is no need to monitor him. But there is no need to customize it. Perhaps at some point he himself will disappear around the bend. Or you will have another thought. Do the same with her.
Try not to change the thoughts you send floating on the leaves. Don't change the flow rate either. Just watch your thoughts float by on the leaves.
If your thoughts go astray or you find yourself following one of the leaves, just acknowledge it and calmly, don’t angry, return to your original place on the shore.
Continue in this manner for a while: write down all the thoughts that arise on the leaves, and then watch them float by.
The next time you notice an intrusive thought, consciously bring to mind the image of a stream.
With each repetition the metaphor will become more and more real and it will become easier for you let off your thoughts.
In addition to stopping thoughts and accepting, there is another way to deal with intrusive thoughts: this is the method of confrontation (exposure therapy), used in behavioral therapy. Here it is proposed to consciously recreate the context that causes anxiety (i.e. e. the very causes of concern around which your obsessive thoughts revolve), and be subject to it exposure for as long and often as necessary so that the tension subsides and anxiety no longer arose. […]
If it seems to you that in the process of thinking you are constantly faced with your own fears, think about the carousel. Typically, intrusive thoughts can be interpreted as an unconscious manifestation of an avoidance strategy.
By constantly jumping from one catastrophic scenario to another and not thinking about anything in particular, you save yourself from having to deal with objective reality.
For a while, obsessive thoughts keep you from thinking about something unpleasant seriously, but in the long run, this merry-go-round can wear you down.
Exposure to intrusive thoughts involves the opposite behavior: I consciously face my worries and do not allow myself to avoid them. In behavioral therapy, this exercise is either done during a session with the therapist or offered as homework. The clearer and more structured the plan for its implementation, the higher the chance of success.
3. Technique "Exposure for intrusive thoughts"
If you want to get rid of disturbing intrusive thoughts on your own, try the following:
- Make an appointment with yourself, choosing a time when you know no one will distract you.
- Plan the duration of the exposure. Start, for example, with a quarter of an hour. If it turns out that this is not enough, next time increase this period.
- Start on time (maybe you should set a reminder on your mobile phone) and during complete the exercise (set a second reminder). The main thing is not to stop earlier than planned! Sounds paradoxical, right? And if the obsessive thoughts have already gone away, is it worth continuing? You might even get bored after 10 minutes. Great! This means that you have become fed up with obsessive thoughts to such an extent that you have lost the desire to continue. Remember the ice cream with cheesecake pieces that you couldn't get enough of until you devoured the whole huge package while watching the series.
- It is best to choose a place for exercise that does not have a special purpose (not where you usually sleep, eat or relax). Just put it in the corner chair or sit in the hallway.
- The only thing you need is paper and a pen. While doing the exercises, you should write down all your thoughts without leaving anything out. If you find yourself going in circles and thinking again about what you already wrote down, continue anyway. write down. Then review your notes again to make sure you haven't forgotten anything.
- If you are someone who has intrusive thoughts constantly, then it may be worth scheduling regular meetings with them. Once your subconscious mind learns that every Saturday at 11 a.m. you have a scheduled half-hour session of obsessive thinking, it can live peacefully for the rest of the week. It now knows that you will thoroughly deal with all the dangers to life in a clearly defined time.
- If an obsessive thought comes to your mind before the appointed time, write it down and tell yourself that you will return to it later. It is useful, for example, to put a notepad on the bedside table - in case the carousel of thoughts follows you all the way to bed.
So I can interrupt obsessive thinking by stopping thoughts, or I can accept them and let them pass by. But in the same way, I can sit in my headphones once a week and listen to Justin Bieber for half an hour until I become completely indifferent to his music, right?
STOP!
Correctly formulating your goals, thinking constructively, appreciating the positive and understanding your feelings - these are just a couple of things that the book “Psychotherapy for Every Day” can teach. All the techniques described by the author are easy to learn on your own and apply in various life situations.
Buy a bookLearn more about the power of thought🤔🤔🤔
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