Anxiety, depression, anger....how do we get rid of these nasty things? Well, one way that I have found to be incredibly effective is to falsify habitual thoughts.
Emotionally negative thoughts are the biggest source of stress, and some people obviously have more emotionally negative thoughts than others. Issues with anxiety, depression, anger, etc. are linked to thinking behaviors that have become a habit. I say the behavior is a habit because nobody consciously chooses the way they think on a day-to-day basis. The majority of our thought process is reflexive depending on the signals our nervous system receive (i.e. the environment). For example, if you have social anxiety disorder, the problem is that when in a social situation you habitually think emotionally-charged thoughts that cause a painful physiological reaction. We are creatures of habit, we have to be because our day-to-day life is so damn complex we are forced to rely on habits. That said, habits can be changed if they are consciously overridden. The way to change the habit of thinking emotionally-charged thoughts when in certain situations is to do the following things:
1. Become fully aware of your thought process (many people with problems like anxiety and depression are not aware of their thoughts)
2. Realize that the thought is not reality, but is just a thought (like realizing a nightmare was just a dream, this removes the emotional power of the experience)
3. Find a way to discredit the thought, view it as being ridiculous in some way (finding a way to laugh at the thought is a good way to change the perception of it).
I know as well as anyone that anxiety and depression are not pleasant, I've experienced both at an extreme level. A lot of anxiety and depression is more physical than anything, but those feelings (we feel emotions) are caused by emotionless thoughts (thoughts =/= emotion, but are associated with emotions). The key here is to falsify the thoughts and disconnect the emotional associations.
Emotionally negative thoughts are the biggest source of stress, and some people obviously have more emotionally negative thoughts than others. Issues with anxiety, depression, anger, etc. are linked to thinking behaviors that have become a habit. I say the behavior is a habit because nobody consciously chooses the way they think on a day-to-day basis. The majority of our thought process is reflexive depending on the signals our nervous system receive (i.e. the environment). For example, if you have social anxiety disorder, the problem is that when in a social situation you habitually think emotionally-charged thoughts that cause a painful physiological reaction. We are creatures of habit, we have to be because our day-to-day life is so damn complex we are forced to rely on habits. That said, habits can be changed if they are consciously overridden. The way to change the habit of thinking emotionally-charged thoughts when in certain situations is to do the following things:
1. Become fully aware of your thought process (many people with problems like anxiety and depression are not aware of their thoughts)
2. Realize that the thought is not reality, but is just a thought (like realizing a nightmare was just a dream, this removes the emotional power of the experience)
3. Find a way to discredit the thought, view it as being ridiculous in some way (finding a way to laugh at the thought is a good way to change the perception of it).
I know as well as anyone that anxiety and depression are not pleasant, I've experienced both at an extreme level. A lot of anxiety and depression is more physical than anything, but those feelings (we feel emotions) are caused by emotionless thoughts (thoughts =/= emotion, but are associated with emotions). The key here is to falsify the thoughts and disconnect the emotional associations.
No comments:
Post a Comment