Hi everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on thought stopping. Disclaimer- I realize this site is not a free therapist, I’m more just seeing if anyone can give me tips on how they do it and if it actually works. I’ve currently been in therapy for 6 weeks, once a week and for the past 10+ years I’ve suffered from severe anxiety disorder which also comes with anger issues, I’m not a very verbal person so a lot of my anger ends up being very built up until I eventually snap or end up crying for hours and wanna punch a wall. Right now my therapist and I are working on thought stopping and it really seems like it could help, but so far I’m still having a really hard time getting the negative thoughts out of my head. Some days they’re worse than others and I replay everything negative in my life over and over in my head like a movie and it seems like no matter how hard I try nothing helps. Does CBT just take some time? Is there something I’m doing wrong or am I just not trying hard enough? I realize anxiety is not just gonna magically go away but therapy really is my last hope for this. Thanks in advance!
I have a problem with over thinking everything, and thinking of other ways that I could have handled a situation. When I find myself doing it, I make myself stop by imagining the sound of a needle going over a record (you know that scratched record sound?) That's my cue to change my focus immediately. Then I focus on something else, whether it's sewing, reading, or whatever. If the thoughts come back, I do the scratched record again, and go about my day doing something else. Depending on what the over thinking was about, by this time, it may be completely forgotten.
Negative thoughts will come into your mind all the time. It is impossible to stop this happening. These thoughts always present themselves to you in a way which seems to demand that you engage with them and sort them out. Of course you never sort them out. They just result in endless thinking which makes you feel worse and worse. The trick is to idejntify these thought and DON'T engage with them. It takes a bit of practice to do this but it is definitely possible to do it. It doesn't take any effort. Just notice when these thoughts arise and refuse to follow them. I heard it described once as imagine you are looking at a beutiful view and then a group of people walk in front of you and obscure the view. You don't have to get up and follow them. Just wait and let them pass and the view returns. There is a very good book on this called the power of now.
Thank you so much! I will try the record thing, that's a good idea.
Thank you for your reply! I will check out that book, it sounds very helpful
What I do sometimes when a negative thought starts creeping my way, I blow like I'm blowing away a fly or something nasty in front of me. Worry is like a big, ugly festering vat of swill-every now and then a waft of the noxious fumes from the vat flies out at me - WHEW!!! I blew it away....until it comes back then I blow it away again!
I like that idea! Thank you!