The truth is that thoughts are neither good nor bad: they just “are.” They are neutral. They are meaningless… until you give them meaning.
Think about it in terms of written or spoken word. If I yell out “FIRE”, does that mean there suddenly is a fire? Of course not, so how could your thoughts be true just because you’ve thought them up?
The key to this is treating your thoughts as exactly what they are - thoughts.
A thought is a simple connection between one part of the brain and another. It doesn’t have value until we give it value.
Here’s an action you can practice from today - when that distressing thought pops into your head, smile. Seems weird, but this action tells your brain that you’re okay with that thought. You’ve treated it as nothing more than a thought, you simply don’t care.
I know this can feel like it won’t work, but the brain needs to make a new memory about how you’re perceiving these thoughts. Some even go as far to say, “I love this thought.” “You’re welcome to stay all day.”
Keep this in mind. Practice responding differently!
The brain is going to learn something from this. To continually retrain the brain with more tips...
You are doing amazing!
-Nathan Peterson, LCSW
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