Stop Worrying By Practicing The Concept Of Cognitive Defusion
I worry a lot. For most of my life, worrying has manifested itself like a runaway train. Once it has started, I can’t stop it; I just need to ride it out. I want to share with you a tool that I have discovered, though. The device works as an emergency brake which lets me stop the train before it gains too much speed.
The concept of Cognitive Fusion means that your mind is one with your thoughts. When you and what you think about are fused, your thoughts will act as a lens. Anything you experience will pass through the glass before reaching your consciousness. When it comes to worrying the lens will distort your reality, making it look worse than it is. If you, for example, think that you are not qualified to do your job, you are going to be more pessimistic at work. If your boss hands you a task, you might believe you won’t be able to finish it.
Cognitive Defusion has to do with separating your consciousness from your thoughts. By practising Defusion, you will be able to perceive the world as it is, thus removing the lens. The concept is simple, and you can do it in a million different ways, but I’m going to share my favourite with you. What all the methods have in common though is that they work by identifying your thoughts. Once you have identified your thought-waves, you can put them aside and be free. It doesn’t mean you will forget about them, just that they are not defining you.
A word of warning. During the practice, you might feel your worries getting stronger. The feelings are completely normal and will pass once you complete the exercise. The reason why the concerns might get stronger is because you are bringing your thoughts out of hiding. In other words, you are bringing them into the sunlight where you can see them. Think of it as removing a splinter from your finger.
I want you to go online and find a photograph of a scene which makes you happy. I found this one:
Now look intensely of the picture while trying to imagine you are part of the scene. Imagine that you are with your family, alone or with your best friend, whatever is most appealing to you at the moment. Imagine there are no expectations on you at this point. You are truly living the moment, being happy, content and relaxed. You might be enjoying the scenery, your company or a combination between them. Most importantly, think of yourself as being part of the photograph, try to think about where in the picture you are.
The reason cognitive defusion works is because it gives you perspective. During the session, you are using the imaginary scene to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not. What’s even better is that after some time you won’t need the photo anymore. Eventually, you will be able to reach the emotional scene without the use of the visual cue.
Read more about Cognitive Defusion here:
https://washingtoncenterforcognitivetherapy.com/cognitive-defusion/
