Post by The Dan on Feb 12, 2016 14:25:28 GMT 12
What do we label as ‘negative’ thoughts?
- things we're ashamed of about ourselves - www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/overcoming-shame/
- "I'm not good enough" stories - www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/the-im-not-good-enough-story/
- thoughts we associated with feeling 'bad', while positive thoughts are those attached to a 'positive' pleasurable feeling
What effect does it have to label thoughts like this?
- we create shame about ourselves which reduces our confidence
- we become stuck on them, and start to fight them or try to avoid them
- they get blown out of proportion in our mind and start to generate long-term suffering
- we are more likely to believe them as 'right v wrong'
Why do we become obsessed with thoughts?
- because we try to control them
- we believe they are 'true' and 'real'
- our behaviour starts to change because we believe the thought (e.g. not applying for a job because you believe the thought "I'm not good enough")
What happens when we try to fight against thoughts or avoid them?
- they may leave you temporarily, but usually they just get bigger and more painful
- they dominate our lives
- emotions get either over-the-top triggered, or shut down completely, leading to depression and apathy
- OCD
If fighting them and avoiding them doesn’t work, what do you think does?
- accepting them without believing them
- reframing them as simply the brain talking to itself, no individual thought is particularly important
- zooming out from the thought to accept the wider reality, through defusion - www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/stop-discouraging-yourself-eliminate-negative-thoughts/
How do we learn to accept thoughts without believing them?
- share them with others as often and accurately as possible, particularly shame-related thoughts
- test the accuracy of thoughts through action (e.g. if the thought is "she doesn't want me to talk with her because she's walking", go ask her to find out for sure)
- challenge the truth of all thoughts that feel painful or unhelpful, ask your brain to provide solid, measurable evidence
Guided meditations
www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/guided-mindfulness-meditation/
www.samharris.org/podcast/item/mindfulness-meditation
- things we're ashamed of about ourselves - www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/overcoming-shame/
- "I'm not good enough" stories - www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/the-im-not-good-enough-story/
- thoughts we associated with feeling 'bad', while positive thoughts are those attached to a 'positive' pleasurable feeling
What effect does it have to label thoughts like this?
- we create shame about ourselves which reduces our confidence
- we become stuck on them, and start to fight them or try to avoid them
- they get blown out of proportion in our mind and start to generate long-term suffering
- we are more likely to believe them as 'right v wrong'
Why do we become obsessed with thoughts?
- because we try to control them
- we believe they are 'true' and 'real'
- our behaviour starts to change because we believe the thought (e.g. not applying for a job because you believe the thought "I'm not good enough")
What happens when we try to fight against thoughts or avoid them?
- they may leave you temporarily, but usually they just get bigger and more painful
- they dominate our lives
- emotions get either over-the-top triggered, or shut down completely, leading to depression and apathy
- OCD
If fighting them and avoiding them doesn’t work, what do you think does?
- accepting them without believing them
- reframing them as simply the brain talking to itself, no individual thought is particularly important
- zooming out from the thought to accept the wider reality, through defusion - www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/stop-discouraging-yourself-eliminate-negative-thoughts/
How do we learn to accept thoughts without believing them?
- share them with others as often and accurately as possible, particularly shame-related thoughts
- test the accuracy of thoughts through action (e.g. if the thought is "she doesn't want me to talk with her because she's walking", go ask her to find out for sure)
- challenge the truth of all thoughts that feel painful or unhelpful, ask your brain to provide solid, measurable evidence
Guided meditations
www.theinspirationallifestyle.com/guided-mindfulness-meditation/
www.samharris.org/podcast/item/mindfulness-meditation