Often, we are told to simply “not think about” or to engage in “thought stoppage” techniques in order to push away worry, stress, insecure, or other troubling thoughts; the amount of energy this takes is tremendous and the return on the investment of our energy doing this is often minimal at best. For example tell a friend to “NOT think of a white elephant” and then ask how successful they were at “not thinking” about it and you will probably be told that it was ALL they could think about! Instead, next time a distressing thought comes to mind, try simply noticing it and practice letting go, acknowledge, notice, let go…. Doing this takes less energy and is a more effective way to manage unwanted thoughts. Envision the thought as a cloud just drifting by or a wave hitting the shore and then retreating. For more information about acceptance based approaches to managing anxiety call us at 631-427-6669.
Holtz Psychological Services Blog
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If you’ve ever gone water skiing you know one of the first things you’re isntructed on is to “let go of the rope if you fall. Often, the novice water skier will continue to hold on to the rope when they fall to try and pull themsevles up, attempting to do it all on their own. With practice and help from professionals the novice learns it’s much easier to let go and fall into the water. This allows the boat to turn around, pick you up, and then you can start over. By letting go you give yourslef the oppotunity to start over and move forward.