>> Cognitive Defusion Helps us Deal With Unwanted Thoughts <<
Cognitive defusion is a technique that comes from cognitive therapy. The purpose is to reduce those unwanted thoughts that appear in our minds and that we feel are directing our lives. This type of thoughts can be called obsessive or ruminant, among many other meanings.
The main characteristic of these thoughts, and their difficulty in eradicating them, is that they turn in a circle with no way out for them. Also, while they are spinning, we will feed them ourselves. The ingredients that they like the most are worries and fears.
For these reasons, running away from this kind of thoughts is not a solution, just like ignoring them. What cognitive defusion proposes is to teach us to relate to this type of intrusive thoughts. How can you do that? Through certain exercises that help us to separate ourselves from them and see them with perspective.
HOW DO WE FUSION WITH UNDESIATED THOUGHTS?
Cognitive defusion tries to stop us from merging with those unwanted thoughts that limit us day by day. We can not concentrate, we sleep poorly, even exercising we have a mind full of intrusive thoughts ... This reality, it is imperative that we know how it is built. Therefore, before dealing with cognitive defusion in depth, we will see how these kinds of thoughts are created.
The way we merge with unwanted thoughts is that we believe that we are those thoughts. We are not able to see them in a contemplative way (from outside), as taught in mindfulness. For this reason, we consider those thoughts something very important that requires our full attention. So much so that no activity can cause us to let them go around.
It is also usual to consider such thoughts as absolute truths. In general, they are not thoughts that we like, so they indirectly become a kind of threat. In this way, we are more attached to them, using inadequate strategies to get rid of them.
All this, also has an emotional impact. Every thought of this kind that we focus on causes very strong emotions in us. We may feel an intense fear, that anxiety is on the surface ... It is natural, because there is a threat that we have to defend ourselves.
The point is that this threat is in our mind and we are feeding it ourselves by merging with thoughts that we do not know how to separate ourselves from.
COGNITIVE DEFUSION EXERCISES
To end this situation so unpleasant for those who live it and know how to act in the event that it happens again, cognitive defusion proposes some exercises. Putting them into practice whenever we need it will help us to go on defusing the thoughts. Over time, we will do this in such an automatic way that we will no longer stick to any thought of this kind.
All cognitive defusion exercises have 3 purposes. The first is that we are capable of identifying and stripping thought; the second, that we can feel it as much as we can; the third, that we manage to release or release it. Let's find out some exercises that help achieve this:
1. "I'm having the thought of ..."
This first exercise of cognitive defusion consists of taking that thought that is disturbing us and putting it in the following sentence: "I am / I am not ...". The objective is that we can complete it according to our own experience. For example, we say "I am not valid". We can write this sentence or say it aloud.
Now, let's go into that phrase. We are going to feel invalid, even images may come to mind from situations in which we feel this way. Also, it is possible that phrases of people who have made us feel this way appear in our minds.
Well, once we have reached this point where we are aware that we are not valid, we are going to take the following sentence model and fit this thought into it. It would be like this: "I am having the thought that I am ...". Now we should say it out loud. What thought are we having? "I'm having the thought that I'm not valid."
Perfect! What has happened? Suddenly, we have completely disassociated ourselves from that thought. We see it with a certain perspective, even if it is small. This is a breakthrough. Repeating the latter statement several times will help us achieve a distance with our thoughts and move forward with the second exercise.
2. The loss of consciousness
We have named this exercise because we believe it sums up its objective very well.
To do it, let's take a word that we like. For example, "green". Well, let's repeat the word "green" many times. When we have been repeating it for a while, we will probably realize that it has lost its meaning.
Suddenly, we forget the definition of the word and we only see it as a series of sounds coming out through our mouths. We may even visualize it with all its letters, but without any meaning. It is possible that we feel as if we were seeing a word in a language that we do not know.
Well, once we have reached this point with this word, we will take the word "invalid". We will repeat this word until its meaning is diluted in the movements of our mouth and the vibrations of the sounds we pronounce. Thought, from one moment to another, will no longer make sense.
These two exercises are very interesting to distance ourselves from intrusive thoughts. However, it is important that when we finish them successfully we ask ourselves some questions.
Is that thought useful to me? Does it help me solve a situation? Is it benefiting me? Are you going to take me somewhere?
Surely we see it much clearer now and we pronounce a resounding "no". This will allow us to let go of that thought and let it go. The definitive step to free ourselves from ruminant ideas that we could not get rid of before.
Cognitive defusion is a very effective technique for dealing with unwanted thoughts. Thoughts that can make us not so enjoy life, that we are mired in a constant sadness and that everything lacks meaning.
When we see thoughts as they are, mere ideas in our minds, and we turn away from them, everything becomes clearer. Before it seemed that we had a dense fog that surrounded our head. Now, thanks to the cognitive defusion, that fog is dissipating little by little.
I had to restart my PC to read this to the end.....My PC had a little fault and while I was reading this post, it started again. Am saying this Because, this post has done something in me that I personally took note of and I needed to read it to the end even though the PC was misbehaving .
As much as it sounded funny to me when I first practiced it, it also achieved its purpose by helping me to disassociate myself from a long standing thought of being inferior to my colleagues.
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