Dealing With Negative Thoughts

The way you view the world depends on what kinds of thoughts are flowing in each day. For example if you think, “Everyone is mean and hateful” thats what you’re going to see. If I think, “Everyone has goodness at heart.” then that’s how you’ll see the world. This is called cognitive fusion which is attaching a thought to an experience. Thats why it’s a good skill to observe your thoughts and not buy every thought that comes into your head. The difference between having a thought and buying a thought is called cognitive defusion. Looking at the thought and realizing how it’s influencing you can be very beneficial when dealing with negative thoughts.

Dealing with intrusive thoughts is completely different. Intrusive thoughts are thoughts that pop in that can be very disturbing. These are things the person having the thought can’t control and don’t mean. It”s usually exactly the opposite of what the person believe. If you try not to think about having an intrusive thought it makes you much more likely to have it. This is why you minus well let go of the possibility of having the thought. Now dealing with how to feel when it comes in is different. You need to recognize that it’s just a thought and you cannot control it! Let them in and let them go!