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5 effective exercises to help you stop believing your unwanted automatic thoughts
Your mind is trying to problem-solve
Consider having a conversation with your mind wherein you appreciate what it is trying to do, but knowing that you don't have to agree.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
The Outline/List
Is a linear method of taking notes that proceeds down the page, using indentation or bullets to denote major and minor points.
Pros: it records content relationship in a way that is easy to review.
Cons: difficult to go back and edit information written in this system.
Works for: recording terms, definitions, facts and sequences, when taking notes on slides or readings.
The Sentence Method
The goal is to jot down your thoughts as quickly as possible. Format is kept to a minimum: every new thought is written on a new line.
Pros: Is like free writing for notes.
Cons: lack organization and notes can be hard to understand.
Works for: meetings or lectures that lack organization; when information is presented very quickly.
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)
- Skim the material for bolded text, images, summaries, to produce a list of headlines;
- Each headline is then written in the form of a question;
- Record your “answers” to the reading questions under each corresponding header;
- Once you’ve finished reading the text, write a summary of the material from memory—this is the “recite” part of the process.
- Finally, review your notes to make sure you’ve completely grasped the concepts.
Works for: dense written material.
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Key Ideas
The 'assumption of healthy normality'
There is an assumption that emotional pain and suffering is a deviation from a default happy baseline. However, it's incorrect. Psychological pain is everywhere.
Research indicates that one in two adults will meet the criteria for a mental health problem at some time in their lives. Instead of turning our focus on what makes us happy, we should focus on achieving a sense of meaning, regardless of how we're feeling.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
The goal of ACT is not necessarily to reduce one's problematic thoughts and emotions. It is to help people effectively function while they are distressed and to promote more flexible and value-driven behaviors.
In other words, the primary goal is to promote 'valued living.'
Valued living
Valued living is going about your daily life in the service of values you find important. Engaging in these actions creates a sense of meaning and purpose.
The symptoms of psychological suffering are problematic when they are linked to behaviors that draw us away from valued living.
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Key Ideas
Prejudice is inside us all
Prejudice stems in part from cultural learning, our parents, our schools, and social messages in the media. Prejudice is also deeply embedded in our thought networks.
The good news is that we can combat it.
Negative stereotypes are lodged in our cognitive network
They pop up to do mischief, even when you're not conscious of it.
We can learn to recognize bias in ourselves and reduce the harmful impact of that part of ourselves by applying acceptance and commitment therapy. It focuses on developing psychological flexibility. When we investigate our implicit biases, we become more aware of them and can bring our actions in line with our conscious beliefs.
Authoritarian distancing
All forms of prejudice can be explained by what’s called authoritarian distancing - the belief that we are different from some group. Because they are different, they represent a threat we need to control.
When people adopt authoritarian distancing, they display three characteristics:
- The inability to take the perspective of other people.
- The inability to feel the pain of other people when you take their perspective.
- The inability to be emotionally open to the pain of others when you do feel it.