While cleaning out my room I found a paper that my therapist gave me some time ago to deal with obsessive and intrusive thoughts. Sorry the paper is a little crinkled and stained, but I figured I’d post it in hopes that it will help someone like it helped me.
Here it is again with text for anyone who can’t see the picture
- That thought isn’t helpful right now.
- Now is not the time to think about it. I can think about it later.
- This is irrational. I’m going to let it go.
- I won’t argue with an irrational thought.
- This is not an emergency. I can slow down and think clearly about what I need.
- This feels threatening and urgent, but it really isn’t.
- I don’t have to be perfect to be OK.
- I don’t have to figure out this question. The best thing to do is just drop it.
- It’s OK to make mistakes.
- I already know from my past experiences that these fears are irrational.
- I have to take risks in order to be free. I’m willing to take this risk.
- It’s OK that I just had that thought/image, and it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t have to pay attention to it.
- I’m ready to move on now.
- I can handle being wrong.
- I don’t have to suffer like this. I deserve to feel comfortable.
- That’s not my responsibility.
- That’s not my problem.
- I’ve done the best I can.
- It’s good practice to let go of this worry. I want to practice.
I’m gonna reblog this again because this is so helpful
Tag: psychology
This is a really helpful page in my CBT textbook for tackling some of the maladaptive beliefs we often hold. The first column lists the rules and assumptions we often may tell ourselves, while the second column is a more functional belief. Just thought I would pass this along. Be kind to yourselves, friends❤
Oh my god, number 5. And 6, and 7.
I frigging needed that.
Failure is not a permanent condition.
The text on the image:
- Maladaptive belief:
If I don’t do as well as others, I’m a failure.
More functional belief:If I don’t do as well as others, I’m not a failure, just human.
- Maladaptive belief: If I ask for help, it’s a sign of weakness.
More functional belief: If I ask for help when I need it, I’m showing good problem-solving abilities (which is a sign of strength).- Maladaptive belief: If I fail at work/school, I’m a failure as a person.
More functional belief:If I fail at work/school, it’s not a reflection of my whole self. (My whole self includes how I am as a friend, daughter, sister, relative, citizen, and community member, and my qualities of kindness, sensitivity to others, helpfulness, etc.) Also, failure is not a permanent condition.
- Maladaptive belief: I should be able to excel at everything I try.
More functional belief: I shouldn’t be able to excel at something unless I am gifted in that area (and am willing and able to devote considerable time and effort toward it at the expense of other things.- Maladaptive belief: I should always work hard and do my best.
More functional belief: I should put in a reasonable amount of effort much of the time.- Maladaptive belief: If I don’t live up to my potential, I have failed.
More functional belief: If I do less than my best, I have succeeded perhaps 70%, 80%, or 90%; not 0%.- Maladaptive belief: If I don’t work hard all the time, I’ll fail.
More functional belief:If I don’t work hard all the time, I’ll probably do reasonably well and have a more balanced life.
my attention span is so bad i cant watch something without being on my phone at the same time i always have to have 2 layers of activity when did this happen why is capitalism stealing my soul away the spectacle has me firmly in its grip
Psychology time!
This isn’t having a short attention span (or well maybe thats part of it), but probably something called “Optimal Arousal.”(This is psychology, not anatomy, please keep your mind out of the gutter Xp)
Optimal Arousal goes like this: When effort is low, more stimulus is better. When effort is high, less stimulus is better.
I’ll elaborate. Whenever you do something easy (like maybe some homework as an example), unless something else is happening (like music or a show) you tend to get drawn away or doze off. In this homework scenario, the effort is low, so in order to keep at it and do well on working on it, you need a higher amount of stimulus, like a movie.
If something is hard, like for instance a test, you probably will try to avoid noise, going so far as to hush others so you can concentrate. The effort is high so you want less stimulus.
Keep this in mind. It can help you focus, and make life a lot easier. Dont feel bad for doing lots of different things while you are just chillin. Enjoy the knowledge!
This is also the reason that when people get lost or are trying to find an unfamiliar destination, they turn their car stereo down.
Whoa wait turning down the music so you can “see better” is a real thing and not just something to poke fun at?
I FEEL SO FUCKING VINDICATED
Brains are not all-mighty.
Our working memory (or short-span memory) can only withhold a number from five to nine items at time, and it only partially distinguishes between the type of stimulus it is storing.
Also, yes, the parts of our brains that elaborate visive and uditive inputs are different, but the attention network is only one and it is limited, which means that the brain has to divide its attention in many directions. If you’re lost, you need to put more attention into checking your surroundings as you need to take note of an higher number of details than usually, so having something pocking at your uditive cortex takes away bits of attention that you actually need.
So yeah, turning down the music in the car helps redirect attention to sight and increase your ability to spot details or analyze the situation.
Nothing but My Aching Soul 