Thought Stopping

[Done-With-It!]

Thought stopping There are times when your mind races, and you're head just buzzes with loads of irrelevant things. And there are times when that one terminally embarrassing or utterly disastrous memory just stuffs itself into your consciousness, and drags you along with it to the bitter end. Or maybe your mind starts that 'what if I goof up?' game, and just doesn't want to let go. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just turn off the thought? Two tips for doing just that below: The Stop Sign This trick is easy; whenever you have a thought you can do without, visualise a big, red STOP sign. Let that fade away with the unwelcome thought, and move on with what you were doing. Try it:Put your mouse on the lights, and whenever some thought occurs to you (like "what am I waiting for?"), click. The example is quite complex, with an abrupt, vivid STOP, and a transition back to an 'OK' state. For a simpler, and often equally effective, variant, just use the STOP to halt a disruptive train of thought (often coupled with a sharp focussing action), and then focus on something more relevant. Creative distraction A term used slightly less generally by Syer and Connolly in sporting bodymind, the principle is relatively simple. Ever play that game that goes "DON'T think about Pink Elephants!"? The way to win this game is to think about GREEN elephants. Or blue elephants. Or best of all, elephants you know and love and cherish... In other words, just let yourself get interested in something else. "Something else" is typically: A different thought For example, deliberately turn your mind to a time when you did well, and dwell on it. Something task-related Very effective, as it combines thought with action. Just focus on what you're doing; check the feel of the bow, carefully examine your arrows for problems; on the line, focus on the feel, rhythm or balance in your shooting... These quite simple tricks make a big difference; mostly, I think, because they all give you a positive way of controlling your thoughts.

When it works Thought stopping works pretty well any time. It's most effective when the thought you turn to is vivid and reassuring. It helps (as ever) if you have already found practised and found an image or topic to turn to . Thought stopping is a good short-term response to immediate distraction, so is effective during an event. When it doesn't Weak or irelevant replacement thoughts and images won't help much. Thinking about chocolate, for example, may well stop the original distraction, but it's harder to shoot when you're dribbling...

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http://www.tenzone.u-net.com/psych/thtstp.htm#

[Done-With-It!]

Coping.org: Tools for Coping with Life's Stressors

The SEA's Tools for a Recovery Lifestyle Thought Stopping in Recovery Content: What is thought stopping? How does thought stopping work? What are some thought stopping techniques? Irrational thinking which blocks you from letting thought stopping work for you Directions for thought stopping What is thought stopping? Thought stopping is the: Process by which you are able to cease dwelling on a thought bothersome to you.:p> :p> Procedure used to stop thoughts that are cues to acting impulsively or compulsively.:p> :p> Process by which you are able to break the power of the cues that lead you into addictive or binge-like behavior.:p> :p> Substitution of a healthy thought for an unhealthy thought.:p> :p> Act of deliberately turning to cues that break unhealthy patterns or habits.:p> :p> Ability to discontinue obsessing on an idea, image, thought, fear or stimuli that is a cue for unhealthy behavior.:p> :p> Practice of using mental energy in a positive way.:p> :p> Technique used to reduce the negative impact of stress, unhealthy emotional cues, and fears.:p> :p> Stress-reduction technique that eliminates the overwhelming impact of stress and/or crisis events. How does thought stopping work? In thought stopping you could use one of the following or a combination of them::p> :p> Replace one thought for another, i.e., the thought of eating is replaced by the thought of exercising.:p> :p> Hear "stop'' literally or figuratively whenever a negative or unhealthy thought arises, e.g., the desire for a cigarette appears and "stop'' is immediately heard.:p> :p> Are able to break an obsessive, unhealthy thought pattern by substituting a healthy thought pattern.:p> :p> Are able to replace a negative or unhealthy image with a positive visual image.:p> :p> Find you divert or detour your mind from unhealthy or negative thoughts.:p> :p> Clear your mind of all unnecessary and unhealthy thoughts that create stress or cues for acting out in unhealthy ways.:p> :p> What are some thought stopping techniques?:p> :p> Thought Replacement: when an unwanted thought enters, immediately replace the thought with a healthy, rational one. Yelling 'Stop'': on thinking the unwanted thought, immediately yell STOP. The yell can be out loud or only in the mind. Continue to yell STOP until the unwanted thought ceases. Substituting a Healthy Thought Pattern: if you have a tendency to think irrationally due to irrational beliefs, you can develop a rational pattern of thinking by challenging every thought that comes to mind, asking: Is this a rational thought? If not, what is irrational about it? What would be a rational replacement for this thought? Replacement Visual Image: if you have a tendency to visualize negative images, replace these negative images by positive, healthy images. Aversive Replacements: if you have a tendency to think of an unhealthy behavior in an acceptable manner, immediately replace these acceptable images with more honest images, i.e., thoughts of alcohol, drugs, junk foods can be replaced by the words "poison,'' "unhealthy,'' "disgusting,'' "barf'' or "killers.'' Thoughts of cigarettes can be replaced by "cancer sticks'' or "coffin nails.'' Irrational thinking which blocks you from letting thought stopping work for you It's OK if I just think about it and do nothing about it.:p> :p> What's the harm of thinking about it?:p> :p> People will never know if I just think about it for a little while.:p> :p> I've denied myself so much, why can't I just think about it once in a while?:p> :p> You can't condemn me for thinking.:p> :p> I never thought about it before I acted so why should I avoid thinking about it now?:p> :p> It is too much of a battle to fight these thoughts. It's easier to give in and then start over again in the morning.:p> :p> What difference does it make if I think about it?:p> :p> It seems so silly to control my mind from having thoughts about it.:p> :p> This feels like brainwashing and I think brainwashing is bad.:p> :p> I don't have time to do this.:p> :p> I don't need this in order to be successful in achieving recovery.:p> :p> This is another far-out psychological gimmick-too stupid to try.:p> :p> Directions for thought stopping First: Use relaxation training and breathing exercises to get yourself relaxed. It is important that you be at ease to stop a recurring thought.:p> :p> Second: Record the word stop in alternating 1, 2, and 3 minute intervals on a 30 minute tape. Using the stop tape in a relaxed state, think your unwanted thought and every time you hear stop, discontinue the thought. Go back to the thought again and cease the thought only when you hear stop. Do this for 30 minutes every night for two weeks or until you can consistently discontinue the thought when you hear stop.:p> :p> Third: After you are trained to arrest your thought using the stop tape, you are ready to try arresting your thought by yelling stop out loud. Think of your unwanted thought for 30 minutes and yell stop to discontinue the thought. Once you arrest the thought, go back to thinking about it for awhile, then yell stop again. Do this for 30 minutes each night for two weeks or until you are able to consistently discontinue the thought by yelling stop.:p> :p> Fourth: After you have trained yourself to stop thoughts by yelling stop, you are ready to train your thoughts to end by whispering stop. For thirty minutes, repeat the process of dwelling on your unwanted thought, but this time whisper stop to halt them. Do this 30 minutes nightly for two weeks or until you are able to consistently discontinue the thought by whispering stop.:p> :p> Fifth: After you have trained yourself to discontinue unwanted thoughts by whispering stop, you are ready to train your thoughts to discontinue by thinking the word stop. Repeat the process of dwelling on your thought for 30 minutes, but this time simply think stop to discontinue unwanted thoughts. Do this for 30 minutes nightly for two weeks or until you are able to consistently discontinue unwanted thoughts by thinking the word stop.:p> :p> Sixth: The technique of either taping, yelling, whispering, or thinking stop can be effective in discontinuing unwanted thoughts. Ideally you could get to the point where simply thinking stop would work; however, use whichever mode works best for you and keep practicing. Remember to start the process in a relaxed state.