16/04/2022
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲?
Anxiety comes up when we think that something bad is going to happen.
It is where you catastrophize until your thoughts get blurry and you get stuck in a loop.
Thoughts are like glasses; they are used to see the world.
If you think that the world is a beautiful place, that’s what you will see. It's the same if you think that the world is devious.
Letting your thoughts come and go rather than holding onto them.
Defusing yourself from your thoughts. This technique is called 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.
This technique can give you power over your thoughts instead of letting them run your show.
Recognize your thoughts without buying them,
and then selectively choose which thoughts you want to act on instead of letting it dictate your mood, choices, and happiness.
Here are some exercises you can use to practice Cognitive Defusion.
𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗼. 𝟭: 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Write down all of the thoughts that runs through your mind. Even if you’re not thinking of anything, write it down.
Put it like this “I’m having the thought that…”
Take your time doing the exercise before you proceed.
Now, can you see it as a thought that you’re having in this moment?
Replay it one more time, but this time add the phrase “I notice that I’m having the thought that…”
What happened? Did you notice the sense of separation or distance between you and the thought?
Take a moment to notice them and then notice yourself noticing them.
𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗼. 𝟮: 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺
Look for adjectives like intrusive, rational, etc.
Say something like “Oh, I’m having an intrusive thought”, this helps you visualize your thought easier.
It can also be helpful to give those thoughts actual names, like Bubbles.
So, for example “Oh, there goes Bubbles in my mind again.” And you might be able to identify Bubbles as kind of a negative character.
So, it might say things like
“Oh, I’m so awkward”,
reply something like
“Hello, thank you mind for making that thought, but that thought is not very helpful to me right now. So, I’m going back to listening to my friend.”
That’s another cognitive defusion technique called “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥”.
Another technique is to 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴,
like saying “I can’t sing on stage if I’m feeling anxious” in falsetto,
or aggressively shouting “Bubbles!”,
or repeatedly saying “Awkward” in weird tones until it became a jumbled sound.
𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗼. 𝟯: 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁
Write it down on a piece of paper,
and when you’re ready to let go of that thought,
crumple it, then burn it into crisp.
These exercises help you create that separation.
Cognitive Defusion gives you the freedom to ask “Is this thought helpful for me?”
If it’s not, let that thought pass along, and you just look around for another thought that’s more helpful to you.
In summary, don’t get obsessed with fighting your thoughts.
With cognitive defusion, we create a little space between ourselves and our thoughts.
Instead of saying “I’m a loser”, try saying “I’m having the thought that I’m a loser.” Then we can ask ourselves, “Is this thought helpful?”
So, that frees us to choose what’s more important, to allow other thoughts to pass through so, we can focus on living the life that we want.
You're amazing if you made it here!
Thanks for reading.
