How to get rid of vile thoughts. How to get rid of bad thoughts: effective ways to deal with negativity. Instructions for managing your thoughts and emotions

OBJECTS]

45. The second method of concentration of the mind, namely, without using objects, consists of three stages: instant expulsion of thought at the very moment when it appears like a flash; leaving incomplete any arising thought; bringing the mind to its natural state [of absolute peace, not disturbed by thought processes (2).

(2) In short, the essence of these methods is to instantly block thought, allow thoughts to arise freely without limiting them, and bring the mind into a state of complete rest.

[STOPPING THINKING PROCESS]

46. \u200b\u200bThe elimination of thought at the very moment when it arises like a flash is carried out as follows.

While meditating in the above way, the meditator finds that thoughts are continually arising because the mind reacts to stimuli. Knowing that one should not allow even one thought to appear, one must exercise vigilant control and try to block this continuous emergence of thoughts. And as soon as a thought arises, you need to pluck it entirely by the roots and continue to meditate.

47. When a meditator devotes a longer time to efforts to prevent thoughts from arising, he finds that thoughts follow one another on the heels, and it seems to him that their number is infinite. This is the knowledge of the nature of thoughts, which is the recognition of the enemy (1). This is called the "first resting place". The first stage of mental tranquility is achieved, and the yogi with an unperturbed mind observes the continuous stream of thoughts as if he were serenely resting on the bank of the river, watching its flow (2).

The enemy of yogi is uncontrollable thoughts.

To convey the meaning of this phrase, I had to resort to a free extended translation of it. Literally, it could be translated as follows: "This is called the" place of the first rest, "like a river bank, past which water flows." In other words, if the yogi has acted successfully up to this point, he will free himself from the tyranny of the thought process and will be ready to perform even greater tasks awaiting him on the Path to Nirvana.

48. As soon as the mind comes to a calm state, even if for a single moment (3), it notices the arising and disappearing of thoughts. This will give the impression that there are more and more thoughts. But in fact, thoughts always arise, and there is no increase or decrease. Thoughts are born instantly. That which is aloof from the arising of thoughts and is able to immediately stop this arising is Reality (4).

Indian yogis define this shortest unit of time (which they can record) as the length of time between the cutting of the first and second of three hundred banana leaves, which are laid on top of each other and cut with one blow of the sword.

Tib. pierce, che-nyid. Reality is not a human mind that knows the continuous flow of thoughts. Reality is comprehended only in the True State, and a yogi, being in it, if he has merged with Reality, with this Noumenal Source, can prevent the emergence of thoughts, just as a person who knows how to use a switch can turn on and off an electric current.

[NON-RESPONSE TO THOUGHT]

49. At the next step, which is the abandonment of any emerging thought, unformed, the method consists in an indifferent attitude towards it, allowing it to act independently, not falling under its influence and not making attempts to suppress it (2). Let the mind behave like her shepherd [or watchman], and you go on meditating. Then thoughts will cease to arise, and the mind will be in a passive calm state, focused on one thing.

This method is diametrically opposed to the method described in paragraphs 46-48. However, for the one who has mastered the preparatory yoga exercises, there is no inconsistency between them, since both methods are mainly a means of disciplining the mind, in a sense fulfilling the same role as Latin for the student studying it. With the first method, the yogi begins to understand that the formation of thoughts is as natural as breathing, and when the body is biologically functioning normally and the mind is active, the latter is just as difficult to calm down as any other process inherent in embodied existence. The second method, considered here, leads to the true goal, when the Knower, having reached superconsciousness, observes from the side and dispassionately the spontaneous flow of thoughts.

50. Again thoughts are going to sweep like a meteor [sweeping in the sky for one instant, but in an uninterrupted way] (3).

(3) In the original - khyur-khyur. An onomatopoeic word meaning movement in relation to a meteor flying in the sky, an arrow cutting through the air, or a plume of smoke carried away by a light wind.

51. If you meditate as before, the state of peace will continue. This is called the "average state of rest", likened [in its serenity] to the calm flow of a river.

52. Keeping the mind in this inactive state leads to the formation of a sediment in the mind (1).

(1) Sediment is thoughts, as the following sentence makes clear.

53. The expert in the Teachings (2) said:

If the mind is inactive, it becomes calm. When the water settles, it becomes transparent.

(2) The name of this sage is not given in the text. But it was Gampopa or Dzongkhapa, who were the glorified apostles of the White Guru Dynasty, who delivered, as the reverence formula says, this treatise (see Book 1, introduction: author and fellow practitioner).

54. And the great teacher of yogis [Milarepa] instructed:

When the mind is in primordial unchanging

state, Knowledge is born.

When this state, which can be likened to the calm flow of a river, is preserved, the fullness of Knowledge is achieved.

O yogi, stop directing and formulating thoughts,

Keep your mind calm at all times.

55. The great Saraha summarized in the following verses the essence of the teachings about this dual method used during meditation:

When the mind is bound [undisturbed] it strives

wander in each of the ten sides.

When free, he is solid and immobile.

And now I understand that he is as stubborn as a camel.

[METHOD FOR Bringing Your Mind Back to its Natural State]

56. The third way, which is bringing the mind to its natural state, consists of four steps.

[A DEGREE SIMILAR TO THE SPIN OF THE BRAHMAN CORD]

57. The first stage is to keep the mind in a balanced state with the same diligence with which the brahmana cord (1) is spun, since it must be spun evenly. It should be neither too tight nor too weak. Likewise, during meditation, one should not strain the mind too much, otherwise the thoughts will get out of control (2).

(1) The cord of a brahmana, which a brahmana wears as the mark of his caste, should, according to tradition, be spun by a virgin and with the greatest care, for if it breaks during spinning, misfortune will follow. Saraha (see books 2 - INTRODUCTION: 1. About the origin of the teachings of the great symbol) was by birth a brahmana, which explains the appeal to this analogy.

(2) Thoughts should be under the control of consciousness, which, like a shepherd, guards them.

58. If you relax strongly, laziness arises. Therefore, one should meditate with the same energy.

59. In the beginning, the meditator applies the method of instantaneous cutting off thoughts (3) and therefore strains. But when fatigue appears, you need to relax, allowing thoughts to wander spontaneously (4).

(3) See paragraph 46.

(4) See No. 49.

60. This method of alternating tension and relaxation, used in our school, has now been examined. Tightening and relaxing the mind, which can be likened to increasing and decreasing the tension on the threads while spinning a brahmana cord, is called "keeping the mind in a state similar to spinning a brahmana cord."

[DEGREE SUITABLE FOR DISCONNECTING THE STRAW BAR)

61. At the second stage, called "separating the mind from thoughts is like separating a bundle of straw into parts by pulling out a part", a prerequisite is the adoption of an unshakable decision to remain vigilant, because previous attempts to block thoughts created thoughts (1).

(1) The efforts that have been made so far to prevent, control or not control thoughts, inevitably lead to the formation of other thoughts. Now the goal is to achieve a higher degree of peace of mind. It is necessary to stop the continuous thought process, as a rope twisted from straw is divided into parts, in which each straw stalk serves as an analogy to some separate thought, and the rope symbolizes the continuity of the thought process.

62. The ability to cognize, leading to the formation of new thoughts, was involved in the methods of blocking thoughts described above, and this made meditation difficult (2).

(2) The Yogi must now understand (and he is reminded of this) that he has not done much yet. The goal is still far away. But at the same time, he begins to realize that his yoga classes are necessary for his further development, as a person preparing to become an athlete needs exercises that develop muscles.

63. Disconnection from the ability to cognize and from the knower and keeping the mind in an inactive calm state is called a way of freeing the mind from all mental activity and efforts, and this way of disconnection can be likened to breaking a bundle of straw.

[DEGREE SUITABLE TO A CHILD'S PERCEPTION]

64. The third stage is called "the state of mind of a child looking at the frescoes in the temple [and completely absorbed in this occupation]."

65. To keep the vital currents in the channels, the mind is tied to cognitive ability and to the knower (1), like an elephant to a stake.

(1) It was said above that the mind has the quality of a stubborn camel. Now he is compared to a clumsy and clumsy elephant. There is a vital force in the body (Skt. Prana), which is subdivided into ten vital currents (Skt. Vayu). "Vayu" comes from the root "va" - to breathe or blow, meaning the driving force of prana. These vayu, consisting of negative prana, control the life processes of the body, and therefore each of them has its own location and is in charge of certain functions. Normal health required for a yogi depends on the maintenance of each vital current in a normal state, in other words, in the channel that it must occupy (see "The Tibetan Book of the Dead", p. 346).

66. As a result of this practice, forms similar to those woven of smoke, or etheric ones, arise, and the yogi experiences the bliss of ecstasy, being on the verge of fainting (2).

(2) This is a consequence of the fact that vital currents penetrate the median nerve (Skt. Sushumna-nadi), which is the main channel for psychic forces moving with the help of their carriers - vayu. In addition to this psychophysical factor, a spiritual factor acts in parallel, namely the first faint glimpses of cognition of the mind, not affected by thought processes. In the West, this ecstatic state is called "enlightenment." This is the first fruit of the attained perfection in meditation. In this state, the mind of the yogi embraces the deepest peace, which arises from the direct feeling of unity with Nature and Her Source. The human nature of a yogi who has attained the True State gives way to the divine one. Now he is faced with the task of entering this state at will and staying in it for an increasingly long time. His final goal is to enter this state forever at the time of death, or to choose the Highest Path of the Bodhisattva and give up this Freedom in order to help others achieve Liberation.

67. Visions that arise in this inactive state of the body and mind, when it seems that you are floating in the air, should be perceived with indifference - without sympathy and antipathy, that is, not to get attached to them and not to turn away from them. Therefore, when there is neither attachment nor aversion to any emerging vision, such a perception is called "the state of mind of a child looking at [the frescoes] in the temple [and completely absorbed in this occupation]" (1).

(1) A child, looking first at one fresco, then at another, does not feel the attraction of pi to one of them, but at the same time his attention is entirely focused on looking at the frescoes, since he does not know what he will see yet. And such a mental focus, based on expectation, but without attachment, should a yogi maintain at this stage of mental training.

68. The fourth step is keeping the mind in such a state of indifference, with which the elephant takes pricks from thorns (2).

(2) At this stage, the "Knower" must be completely indifferent to such stimuli as constantly replacing thoughts, just as the elephant, thanks to its thick skin, is insensitive to the pricks of thorns.

69. When thoughts arise in a calm state of mind, they are realized simultaneously with their appearance. When the "Preventing" [that is, the consciousness trained through yoga to the vigilant vigilance, which was mentioned above, in order to control thoughts] and what needs to be prevented [that is, the process of forming thoughts] meet each other, the emerging thought is deprived of the ability give a new thought (3).

(3) When a calmness of mind is achieved, simultaneously with the appearance of a thought, apperception occurs, or its capture, which then occurs unconsciously or automatically, just like a heart beats. As a result, the development of thought stops, and it loses the ability to transmute into a new thought.

70. Since the "Preventing" is himself, and there is no need to look for him, this state is called "the state in which the continuous stream of consciousness acts automatically."

71. The ability to keep the mind in such a state in which thoughts are not impeded and do not react to them when they are noticed, is compared to the indifference of an elephant, not sensitive to the pricks of thorns, and hence it is called so (1).

(1) This yogic ability can be classified as the highest form of indifference to physical and mental reactions to stimuli. This is one of the black steps at which the illusions of samsara are neutralized, and this path leads to the True State. However, this is not the final goal.The ultimate goal is to realize that samsara (that is, the created world) and nirvana (that is, the uncreated world) are an inseparable unity, comprehended at the final stage of analysis by the Mind, illumined by the Light of Bodhi. In other elephants, the state in which thoughts arise, and the state in which thoughts do not arise, are two opposites, which, when mastering the yoga of the Great Symbol, will be perceived not as duality, but as unity.

[HIGHEST STATE OF REST]

72. This [state] is called the highest state of rest and is compared to the ocean, on the surface of which there are no waves.

73. Although in such a tranquil state the movement of thoughts, their arising and disappearing is registered by the mind, it is called "a state in which the line between movement and rest disappears", because the mind has achieved tranquility and is indifferent to movement (2).

74. Thus, the concentration of the mind on one is achieved.

75. That which is cognized by "Moving" and "Immovable" [that is, motion and rest in indivisible unity], is called, if It is correctly understood, "All-Discriminating Wisdom, or the Overworldly Reason" (3).

The human mind is inseparable from the One Mind. The goal of yoga is to bring about this union of the human and divine aspects of the mind. This will happen only when the mind is free from the illusion of samsaric existence and realizes itself. The All-Discriminating Wisdom is the Wisdom of the Bodhic (Overworld) Consciousness (or Mind) in the state of nirvana, which gives the ability to cognize each thing separately and all things in their unity.

76. As the "Graceful Sutra" says (1):

Similar information.

Since we are people, and nature determines the eternal presence of black and white both in our lives and in our heads, we cannot get away from this dilemma. Even the struggle. And depending on whose side we fight, it will outweigh. But even when our life, it would seem, becomes woven mainly of white, strange, sometimes terrible black thoughts still sometimes visit us. They can scare us, alarm us. It is difficult to understand their nature without having knowledge, since this element of the vital activity of the brain is ranked among the psychology of the unconscious. The so-called dark side of personality can help us understand ourselves - if we “cooperate” with it correctly.

The inner demon: why terrible thoughts occur to us

It is good that there is no mind reading device yet, otherwise any of us would be caught red-handed. Indeed, even the most meek and delicate person can sometimes rejoice at the failure of a neighbor or feel the desire to smash someone's head. Why do respectable citizens enjoy watching dismembered thrillers, while ardent liberals sometimes catch themselves on xenophobia? And is it possible to prevent such "thought-crimes"? Psychologist Jena Pinkott wrote about this, this article provides the main theses of her article.

Each of us sometimes catches ourselves on the wrong, frightening or vile thoughts. Bend over a cute baby and suddenly think: "I can easily crush his skull." Comforting a friend who has had a personal breakdown and secretly savoring the humiliating details of his story. Drive with relatives in the car and imagine in detail how you lose control and drive into the oncoming lane.
The more persistently we try to distract ourselves from these ideas, the more intrusive they become and the worse we feel. It's not easy to admit, but we do enjoy primitive thrills and other people's misery. People are surprisingly poor at mastering their own black thoughts: we have no control over their duration or content.

In the 1980s, in his famous experiment, Eric Klinger asked volunteers to record their thoughts for a week each time a special device sounded. The scientist found that during a 16-hour day, about 500 unintentional and obsessive ideas visit a person, lasting an average of 14 seconds. Although most of the time our attention is occupied with everyday activities, 18% of the total number of thoughts give a person discomfort and are marked as bad, evil, and politically incorrect. And another 13% can be described as completely unacceptable, dangerous or shocking - these are, for example, thoughts of murder and perversion.

The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung was one of the first to become seriously interested in black thoughts. In his work "The Psychology of the Unconscious" (1912), he described the shadow side of the personality - a repository of sinful desires and animal instincts that we usually suppress.

How is the dark side of personality formed? From the point of view of neurobiology, part of the cognitive processes forms the “I” with which we are used to identifying ourselves - prudent, normal, logical, while other processes serve as an impetus for the development of a dark, irrational consciousness, where obsessive images and ideas are born.

According to Klinger's theory, the ancient preconscious mechanism in our brain is constantly looking for potential sources of danger in the surrounding world. Information about them, bypassing consciousness, is transmitted in the form of emotional signals, which cause unwanted thoughts. Neuroscientist Sam Harris believes that these thoughts are random and completely uncontrollable: although a person is conscious, he cannot fully control his mental life.

Gloomy and frightening thoughts: "This is disgusting, show me more"

People are embarrassed to admit that they are attracted by sinister and vile stories: it is believed that this is the lot of freaks and perverts. Fans of bloody thrillers, photo compilations of victims of road traffic accidents or embryos in alcohol have a reduced ability to empathy. Thirty years ago, University of Delaware professor Marvin Zuckerman determined that some people are more prone to thrills than others. When faced with something abnormal and terrible, people with this personality type are more aroused - this can be established by measuring the electrodermal activity.

Cravings for unhealthy and creepy things can be beneficial as well. As psychologist Eric Wilson argues, thinking about the suffering of others allows us to neutralize destructive emotions without harming ourselves and others. They can even lead to a state of awe: "I can feel the value of my own life in a new way," Wilson writes, "because I myself and my family are alive and well!"

Thoughts on perversion: "Do not open at work ... and anywhere else"

Many of us consider the most terrible thoughtstaboos: there is nothing worse than catching yourself fantasizing about something immoral or illegal.

The good news is that mild arousal doesn't mean anything. Clinical psychologist Lee Baer, \u200b\u200ba professor at Harvard Medical School, argues that arousal is the body's natural response to attention. Almost all people think about it in one way or another, but not all fantasies should be taken literally.

Politically incorrect thoughts: "If they know what I'm thinking, they'll hate me."

A hateful voice in your head that turns on when “another” appears in your field of attention - be it a person in a wheelchair, a woman in a veil, or a foreigner with an unusual skin color. This voice, which you drown out with all your might, casts doubt on the adequacy, behavior, abilities and, in general, the presence of human qualities in "others."

Mark Schaller, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia, believes that such thoughts are triggered by a primitive defense mechanism that formed at the dawn of humanity, when outsiders were by definition a source of threat. The mechanism of "psychological immunity", however, does not justify modern manifestations of intolerance - fat shaming, xenophobia, religious prejudice or homophobia.

The good news is that automatically occurring politically incorrect thoughts can be overcome: psychologists advise you to stop thinking about how polite and impartial others think you are, and concentrate on the personality of the person with whom you are communicating.

Malevolent thoughts: "Your failure is my joy"

When we hear on the news that some girl was caught drunk and arrested, we are not affected. But if that girl turns out to be Paris Hilton, we feel a strange, vicious satisfaction, which the Germans call "shadenfreude" (literally, "joy from harm").

Australian psychologist Norman Feather (Flinders University) has proven that we are more pleased with the failure of someone outstanding than the failure of someone of our equal status. When successful people slip up, we feel smarter, more visionary, and more confident.

Perhaps this is how our inner desire for justice manifests itself. But where does the feeling of shame come from then? According to Professor Richard Smith, author of The Joy of Pain, there is no point in beating yourself up for this banal emotional reaction. To overcome an attack of malevolence, you need to imagine yourself in the victim's place or focus on your own achievements and merits, because the best antidote to envy is gratitude.

Cruel thoughts: "If I had a chainsaw now ..."

You calmly cut onions in your kitchen, and suddenly a thought flashes in your head: "What if I slaughter my wife?" If thoughts of murder were considered a crime, most of us would be found guilty. According to psychologist David Bass (University of Texas at Austin), 91% of men and 84% of women have ever imagined pushing a person off a platform, strangling their partner with a pillow, or brutally beating a family member.

The researcher offered a radical explanation: since our ancestors killed to survive, they passed on to us a predisposition to kill at the gene level. Our subconscious always stores information about murder as a possible solution to problems associated with stress, power, limited resources and security threats.

However, in most cases, thoughts of violence do not precede actual violence, but rather block it. The heartbreaking pictures that the brain paints force us to analyze the situation before taking action. The scenario plays out in imagination, the prefrontal cortex turns on, and creepy thought disappears.

But what happens to dark thoughts when we suppress them?

The Hydra's Dilemma: "The Method of Radical Acceptance ..."

The thoughts we are trying to suppress become obsessive. This is reminiscent of the battle with the Lernean hydra: instead of the severed head, new ones grow. When we try not to think about something, we only think about it. The brain constantly checks itself for the presence of a forbidden thought, and it resurfaces in consciousness again and again, while feelings of shame and self-loathing distract us and weaken our willpower.

The agonizing process of suppression can be exacerbated by depression and stress. The more effort we put into fighting the obsession, the more time it takes to recover and rest. For people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, fighting unwanted thoughts can take hours a day. None of us can completely control our minds. As Jung wrote, we do not control the shadow “I”, we do not create dark thoughts and desires of our own free will - which means that we cannot prevent their appearance.

Dr. Baer recommends the Buddhist method of radical acceptance: when an unwanted idea appears, you should try to perceive it as a mere thought, without deeper meaning and hidden meaning. Don't judge yourself or resist - just let the thought go. If she comes back, try again. Another way to let go of the obsession is to write it down and destroy it. This helps to distance yourself from an unpleasant thought, and then literally get rid of it. The door effect can also work - physically moving to another room helps the brain to switch to a new topic and reset short-term memories. For difficult cases, there is a radical approach: do not let go of frightening thoughts, but, on the contrary, play them out to the end in your imagination in all details.

What is really important in terrible thoughts? The value we give them. We can perceive unpleasant thoughts as valuable objects for investigation - clues that the shadow self, the dark side of the personality, gives us. By analyzing its manifestations, we better understand those around us and ourselves. Gloomy, nasty and uncomfortable "black" thought becomes a source of inspiration. As Eric Wilson writes, imaginative people can turn destructive ideas into fuel for mental and emotional development.

Father analytical psychology Carl Jung kept a diary, which was later published under the title "Red Book". In his diary, Jung recorded disturbing images and ideas from the unconscious, including his encounter with the metaphorical Red Horseman. The presence of the Horseman is unpleasant for Jung, but the researcher enters into a dialogue with the stranger: they talk, argue and even dance. Afterwards, the scientist experiences an extraordinary surge of joy, feels harmony with himself and the world. "I'm sure this red man was the devil," writes Jung, "but it was my own devil."

Learn more about obsessive thoughts: what it is, treatment for OCD. Psychology

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). What is this mental mechanism, and how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears? Video

Greetings!

For me, this article is very important because I am familiar with the problem of obsessive thoughts from my own experience.

And if you are reading it, perhaps you yourself have encountered something like this and do not know how to deal with it.

It will be not only about the knowledge of psychology, but even more importantly, about your own experience, sensations and important subtleties, which, in order to know, you need to go through it yourself.

I want you to use and test what will be discussed in this article on your own practical experience, and not on someone's words that you heard or read somewhere. After all, your own experience and awareness is nothing and no one replaces you.

Somewhere I will repeat myself throughout the article, but only because these are very important points to which I want to draw your special attention.

So, obsessive thoughts, what are they?

In psychology, there is such a concept "mental gum". This name alone should tell you something - a sticky, viscous, addictive thought.

Obsessive thoughts, obsessive states or obsessive internal dialogue - scientifically OCD (), in another way is also called obsessive-compulsive disorder.

it mental phenomenon, in which a person has a painful feeling of forcibly arising in the head of some repetitive information (some thoughts), which often leads to obsessive actions and behavior.

Sometimes a person, tormented by obsession, himself invents for yourself some kind of behavior, action-ritual, for example, counting some numbers, numbers of passing cars, counting windows or pronouncing certain "stop words (phrases)" to yourself, etc. etc., there are many options.

He invents this behavior (action) as a way of some protection from his obsessive thoughts, but in the end these “actions-rituals” themselves become obsessions, and the situation only gets worse over time, because these actions themselves constantly remind the person of his problem, reinforce and enhance it. While it can sometimes help in moments, it’s all one-off, short-term, and doesn’t cure OCD.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

No matter how strange it may seem to anyone, the main reason for the emergence and development of obsessive states, in whatever form it manifests itself, are: firstly, formed the habit of constantly conducting an internal dialogue with oneself, and in an automatic (unconscious) wayon any exciting old or new occasion;secondly, it attachment to some of their beliefs (ideas, attitudes) and deep faith in these beliefs.

And such obsessive thinking, to a greater or lesser extent, is present in many people, but many do not even know about it, they just think that this is correct, that this is a normal way of thinking.

Having become habitual, the obsessive internal dialogue manifests itself not only in what is important for a person, but also in any everyday, daily and new situations. Just watch yourself carefully and you will quickly see it.

But more often it manifests itself in what a person is fixated on, that he has been worried for a long time.

From the constant scrolling of a monotonous, restless (often frightening) and, in fact, useless internal dialogue, such fatigue can heap that, apart from the desire to get rid of these thoughts, there is no other desire. Gradually, this leads to a fear of one's own thoughts, before their appearance, which only aggravates the situation.

A person loses freedom and becomes a hostage to an obsessive state. Insomnia appears, symptoms of VSD () and an almost constant, increased anxiety.

Actually, general internal anxiety and dissatisfaction for some reason led to the possibility of this problem, but this is the topic of other articles.

Obsessions (thoughts) at their core.

What exactly are obsessive thoughts in their inner essence?

It is very important to understand that obsessive thoughts are those thoughts that, without our will, make us think about something. It is usually stressful, monotonous (monotonous) scrolling internal dialogs the same mental plot, only in different ways. And this unconscious stream of thoughts in the head can so absorb attention that at this moment everything else that happens around almost ceases to exist.

Obsessive state as a function of the brain, oddly enough, has its own natural task, it plays a certain role and is something like a "reminder", "signal" and "coercive" that push a person to something.

Many of you may now think, and there is some kind of "reminder" and "signal" here, because obsessive thoughts are just thoughts anyway.

In fact, these are not just thoughts. And the main difference between obsessive thoughts and ordinary, logical ones is that these thoughts, despite all their often seeming rationality, do not contain anything healthy in their inner filling.

These irrational, emotional thoughts, as a rule, are always associated with our fears, doubts, resentments, anger, or with something important and troubling us. These thoughts are always based on an emotional charge, that is, their basis is emotion.

And what can be useful in this obsessive mechanism?

An intrusive Signal is called a signal that informs us of something. This mechanism is mainly designed to automatically remind and focus our attention on what we consider important to ourselves.

For example, if you have a bank loan, you have to pay off it, but you don't have money right now, and if you are a sane person, you will look for a solution. And obsessive thoughts that, whether you like it or not, will often or constantly, at any time of the day or night, remind you of the situation that has arisen so that you can resolve it.

Another example of the use of this intrusive function.

What is so vital a person can think about that can bring him to an obsessive state?

About money, a better job, a better home, personal relationships, etc. For example, a person has a goal, and he begins to constantly think about it, make plans, without stopping, does something and continues to reflect on it.

As a result, if this is non-stop, continues for a long time, a moment may come when he, having decided to take a break, tries to switch and occupy himself with something else, but notices that he continues anyway unknowingly reflect on your important goal.

And if he even tries with willpower and sound reasoning to say to himself “stop, I need to stop thinking about this, I need to rest,” this will not work right away.

Obsessive thoughts, in this example, make a person think about important things. That is, they perform a completely useful role, not allowing a person to stop there, but at the same time, completely not caring about his health, because this is not their business, their only role is to signal, remind and push.

The very emergence of an obsessive state - dangerous and harmful for us - is a sign that mental failures have begun.

Just keep in mind: no matter what important you do, if you do not give yourself good rest, it can lead to any disorders, chronic fatigue, increased anxiety, obsessive states and neurosis.

There is only one conclusion - no matter how valuable and useful what you are doing, and what important things you think, you must always take breaks, stop and allow yourself to have a good rest emotionally, physically and especially mentally, otherwise everything may end badly.

Obsessive thoughts about an alarming (frightening) reason

Obsessive thoughts can be associated with something natural and completely justified, and with something completely absurd, frightening and illogical.

For example, thoughts related to health, when a person, having felt some painful symptom, begins to worry, think about it, and the further, the more he scares himself. My heart stabbed or pounded strongly, immediately the thought: "Something is wrong with me, maybe my heart is sick." A person becomes obsessed with this symptom, worries, and obsessive thoughts arise about this, although in reality there is no disease. It was just a symptom caused by some anxious thoughts, fatigue and internal tension.

But you can't just take and immediately ignore them. Perhaps it really makes sense to listen to these thoughts, because, you really may have some kind of physical illness. In this case, consult a doctor. If, after all the tests, you were told that everything is fine, but you still continue to worry, go to the second doctor, but if it is confirmed there that you are healthy, then you are, and you are now simply susceptible to OCD ...

Other people are attacked by the obsessive thought to harm and even kill someone close to them or do something to themselves. At the same time, the person actually does not want this, but this very thought does not give rest and frightens that it even occurs to him.

In fact, this is a proven fact: there is no recorded case in the world that would lead to dire consequences. It is precisely the presence of these obsessive thoughts that keeps a person from such actions. And the fact that they arise suggests that you not inclined to this, otherwise it would not scare you.

Those who are inclined to something like this, they do not worry inside themselves. They either act or wait, that is, they really want it and at the same time do not worry. Since this scares you, then you are not like that, and this is the main thing.

Why are you having your problem? The following happened to you. Once you were visited by some crazy thought, and instead of saying to yourself: “Well, stupid things can come to mind,” and not attaching importance to this, you would have left yourself alone, scared and began to analyze.

That is, at that moment some thought visited you, you believed it and believed that since you think so, it means that you are like that and you can do something bad. You trusted without solid reason this irrational thought, not knowing that such absurd and can visit any healthy person, it is quite an ordinary phenomenon. This thought, in turn, triggered an emotion in you, in our case the emotion of fear, and off we go. Subsequently, you became obsessed with this thought, because it scared you, began to analyze a lot and yourself endowed it with strength (made it important), so you have a problem now, and not at all because you are some kind of abnormal or mentally ill, that you can and want to do something scary. You just have a disorder that is definitely being treated, and you definitely won't do anything wrong to anyone.

Thoughts themselves cannot force you to do something, for this you need a real, strong desire and intention. All they can do is make you think, but nothing more. This, of course, is also very unpleasant, and how to deal with it, how to get rid of obsessive thoughts, will be below.

In others, obsessions may be associated with everyday things, for example, "have I turned off the stove (iron)?" - a person thinks and checks a hundred times a day.

Some are afraid of contracting something and wash their hands constantly or repeatedly in a day, wash their apartment (bath), etc.

And someone can worry and obsessively think about their appearance () for a long time, or constantly worry and think about their behavior in public, control over themselves and their status in society.

In general, everyone has their own, and no matter how scary or acceptable is what is imposed, all this is essentially the same - OCD only in different manifestations.

An example of how obsessive thinking can manifest itself

Let's briefly, with a simple example, see how the habit of compulsive thinking can often manifest itself, and what physically reinforces and reinforces this habit.

If you have a conflict or an argument with someone, and some time has passed, and thoughts related to the situation do not let go.

You keep on mentally, unconsciously, replaying this in your head, conducting an internal (virtual) dialogue with the opposing side, arguing about something and finding more and more excuses and proofs of your innocence or your guilt. You get angry, threaten and think: "You should have said this and that, or done this and that."

This process can go on for quite a long time until something catches your attention.

Over and over again you worry and get nervous, but in fact you are doing the real, very harmful absurdwhich is reinforced and automatically moved emotional obsessive state and feeling of anxiety.

The only right thing to do in this situation is to stop thinking about it, no matter how much you want it and no matter how important you think it is.

But if you succumbed, and this obsessive process dragged on, then it can be very difficult to internally gather and stop the internal dialogue.

And you can aggravate the problem even more if at some point you realize that you are not in control of the situation at all, you are even more afraid of these thoughts, you start to fight them in order to somehow distract yourself, and you start blaming and scolding yourself for everything that is now is happening to you.

But the guilt for everything that happens to you is not only yours, but also in the neglected mechanism, which has both a mental basis and a physical and biochemical component:

• certain neurons are excited, and stable neural connections are created, at which it begins to be produced automatic reflex response;
• the body produces stress hormones (cortisol, aldosterone) and a mobilizing hormone - adrenaline;
• the vegetative nervous system (ANS), and somatic symptoms appear - the muscles of the body are tense; increased heart rate, pressure, tension, sweating, trembling in the limbs, etc. Very often there is dry mouth, fever, lump in the throat, shortness of breath, that is, all the signs of VSD (vegetative-vascular dystonia).

Remember: what to scold and be angry with yourself in this situation - a crime against yourself, much here simply does not depend on you, it takes time and the right approach to stabilize all these symptoms, about which it will be below.

By the way, you should not be afraid of these symptoms listed above, this is a completely normal body reaction to your anxiety. The same as if there was real threat, for example, a huge dog would run at you, and you would naturally be afraid of it. Immediately, the heart would pound, the pressure would rise, the muscles would tighten, the breathing would become faster, etc. These unpleasant symptoms - the consequences of the release chemical elements and adrenaline, which mobilizes our body in times of danger.

Moreover, notice and be aware of the fact that all this happens in our body, not only at the moment of a real threat, but also at contrived, virtualwhen there is no real danger now, no one attacks you, and nothing falls from above. The danger is only in our head - we think about something restless, we wind ourselves up with some kind of disturbing thoughts and begin to strain and get nervous.

The fact is that our brain simply does not feel the difference between what is happening in reality and the mental (mental) experience.

That is, all these strong, unpleasant and frightening symptoms can be easily caused by disturbing (negative) thoughts, which will provoke some unwanted emotions, and those, in turn, unpleasant symptoms in the body. This is what many constantly do, and then, in addition, they begin to be afraid of these natural symptoms and even bring themselves to PA () and.

Now, I think, it will be difficult for you to immediately realize this, because this moment of the relationship between the psyche and the body requires a more detailed and deep explanation, but this will be in other articles, and now, so that you can slowly begin to understand yourself, I tell you again, I suggest learning to observe yourself, your thoughts and emotions.

Understand where and what comes from, how thoughts, emotions and other related sensations arise; what happens unconsciously and what we consciously influence; how much it all depends on us, and how your thoughts affect your current state.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts, fears on your own?

The first step is to realize the fact that you cannot completely believe everything that comes to your mind, and you cannot associate (identify) yourself, your “I” only with your thoughts, because we are not our thoughts. Our thoughts are only a part of ourselves. Yes, very important, intellectual, necessary for us, but only a part of us.

Logic (thinking) is our main ally, it is a great tool given to us by nature, but this tool still needs to be able to use it correctly.

Most people are sure that EVERYTHING our thoughts are only our own thoughts, it is we who invent them, and then we think them over.

Indeed, since some thoughts arise in our head, then these are, of course, our thoughts, but in addition to this, they are largely derivatives of various external and internal factors.

That is, what we can experience, and what thoughts now come to our minds, does not depend only on uswhether we like it or not. All this directly will be related to our mood in this moment (good or bad) and will be a consequence of circumstances beyond our control and past experience.

If we had different attitudes, a different mood, a different past, for example, we would have been born to other parents or now live in Africa - there would be completely different thoughts.

If some negative moment had not happened to us in the past, there would have been no bad experience, therefore, there would not have been any obsessive thoughts.

When we associate ourselves, our "I" only with your thoughts when we are confident that our thoughts - that is we do, then we have no choice, once deeply believe everything that comes to mind, and yet to come is such ...

In addition, it is very important to realize that we are able to observe our thoughts, comment on them, evaluate, condemn and ignore. That is, we are what can be attention outside thinking, be aware of yourself outside your thoughts. And this suggests that we are not only our thoughts, we are something more - something that can be called a soul or some kind of energy.

This is very important point in solving this problem. You need to stop identifying yourself with your thoughts, stop believing that they are you, and then you will be able to see them from the outside (detached).

Our body speaks to us all the time. If only we could take the time to listen.

Louise Hay

If you start observing yourself and your thoughts, you will quickly notice the fact that most of our thoughts in our head are nothing more than automatic thoughts, that is, they arise unconsciously, on their own without our desire and our participation.

And what's most interesting, most of these thoughts are repeated every day. These are 80-90% the same thoughts only in different variations.

And this is not just someone's words, this is a confirmed scientific fact based on numerous studies. In fact, we think and scroll the same things in our heads every day. And you yourself can trace it.

Second step,which I briefly wrote about in the article ““, you cannot fight obsessive thoughts in any way, resist and try to get rid of them, brush them off and forget.

Watch yourself: if you are trying very hard not to think about something, then you already think about it.

If you strive to get rid of thoughts, switch or somehow drive them away, then they will prevail even more strongly and persistently.

Because by resisting you themselves endow them with an even greater emotional charge and only increase the internal tension, begin to be more anxious and nervous, which, in turn, increases the symptoms (unpleasant physical sensations), which I wrote about above.

Therefore, the key point is do not struggle with thoughts, do not try to somehow distract yourself and get rid of... Thus, you will save a lot of energy that you are now wasting on fighting them, without getting anything in return.

How to stop obsessive self-talk if you can't fight?

At the moment when obsessive thoughts visited you, and you realized that these thoughts do not tell you something really necessary (useful) - it is just from time to time, many times, like a worn-out record, a repetitive internal dialogue that you then it is very disturbing and has not yet resolved your problem - simply, impartially, indifferently begin to ignore these thoughts, without trying to get rid of them.

Let these thoughts be in your head, allow them to be, and watch them. Look at them even if they scare you.

In another way, and perhaps it would be more correct to say, without entering into a dialogue with them, without analyzing You just contemplate them, gently trying not to think about them.

Do not analyze what the obsessive thoughts tell you, just observe them without delving into their essence. Always remember that these are just ordinary thoughts that you don't have to believe in, and you don't have to do what they say.

Don't avoid the sensations

Also observe the emerging emotions and sensations in the body that cause these thoughts, even if they are not very pleasant to you. Look closely and feel what, how and at what moment is happening. This will give you an understanding of why your unpleasant symptoms occur and why at some point you start to feel worse.

Just as with thoughts, do not try to get rid of these feelings, give in to them, even if you feel bad for a while. Remember that these are completely natural, albeit painful symptoms, and they have a reason. During the war, people did not experience that, and after a long and healthy life.

These sensations are necessary accept and live to the end... And gradually inside you, at a level deeper than our consciousness (in the unconscious), a transformation of these sensations will take place, and they themselves will weaken until at some point they completely cease to bother you. Read more about the sensations in this one.

Without struggling with internal processes, you can smoothly transfer your attention to breathing, make it a little deeper and slower, this will accelerate the recovery of the body (read more about proper breathing).

pay attention to the world, people and nature - on everything that surrounds you. Consider the texture of various things, listen to sounds, and when doing something, direct all attention on this matter, that is, with full attention, plunge into real life.

Acting in this way, it is not necessary to do everything in the sequence I described, do as you do now, the main thing is consciously and carefully observe everything.

If thoughts return, let them be, but without mental analysis and struggle from your side.

Your indifference and calm attitude without a struggle to these thoughts will significantly reduce or even deprive them of their emotional charge. With practice, you yourself will understand.

Do not rush things, let everything go its natural course, as it should go. And these thoughts themselves will surely go away. And they will leave without consequences or without serious consequences for you. It turns out that you are calm and smooth, somewhere imperceptible to yourself, naturally transfer your attention to something else.

By learning not to struggle with thoughts, you learn to live when those thoughts are and when they are not. No annoying thoughts - great, but if there are - it's also normal.

Gradually, with a change in your attitude towards them, you will no longer be afraid of the appearance of any thoughts, because you realize that you can live peacefully without being afraid or tormented by them. And these thoughts in my head will become less and less, because, without running away from them, without endowing them with strength, they will lose their sharpness and begin to disappear by themselves.

Arguing with obsessive thoughts and finding a logical solution

It so happens that you, trying to get rid of a constantly overwhelming, obsessive thought, are looking for some thoughts or mental solutions that would calm you down.

You are thinking intensely, perhaps arguing with yourself or trying to suggest something to yourself, but by doing so, you only strengthen the problem from the inside.

In a dispute with obsessive thoughts you do not prove yourself, and even if you manage to find a thought that at the time of calm you soon obsessive thoughts in the form of doubts and anxieties back, and everything will start in a circle.

Trying to replace thoughts or convince yourself of something with obsessions doesn't work.

How to get rid of intrusive thoughts: mistakes and warnings

Don't count on quick results... You could cultivate your problem for years, and in a few days change your attitude to thoughts, learn to impartially observe them, not succumbing to their provocation - it will be difficult, and this really needs to be learned. Some will have to overcome intense fear, especially in the beginning, but it will get better.

Something you can turn almost immediately, and someone will immediately become easier, others will need time to get a feel for how it all happens, but all without exception, will be downs, the so-called "kickbacks" or "pendulum", when the past state and behavior is returned. The important thing here is not to get discouraged, not to stop and keep practicing.

Very harmful talk to someone about your condition, about what you are experiencing, share and discuss your experiences with a non-professional person.

This can only ruin everything. Firstly, because you once again remind yourself, your psyche, your unconscious about what is happening to you, and this does not contribute to recovery in any way.

Secondly, if the one to whom you are telling something, showing his initiative, begins to ask: “Well, how are you, is everything all right? Are you well already? " or “Never mind, all this is nonsense” - such questions and words can simply destroy the healing process. You yourself can feel what you feel at the moment when someone told you something like that, take a closer look at your inner sensations, you clearly feel worse, you start to feel sick acutely.

Therefore, it is very important to exclude all conversations on this topic with other people other than a specialist doctor. Thus, by not communicating about what you are experiencing, you will remove many reminders (internal messages) that you are supposedly sick, and you will stop developing your problem deeper.

Trying not to fight with obsessive thoughts, you observe them, but at the same time you internally want and try to get rid of them, fight with them, that is, in fact, the same struggle takes place.

Therefore, a very important initial step here will be to capture and fix itself a wish get rid of obsessive thoughts. Do not go on about this desire, just be aware of it within yourself.

There is no need to wait impatiently for these thoughts to go away and that they will not appear again.

This is impossible, because memory can not be fooled, and cause amnesia, friends, well, it is unreasonable. If you always wait for some of your thoughts to disappear and never return, you are already creating resistance and struggle, which means the problem will remain a problem, and you will continue to dwell on it.

The key in solving it is not that these or similar thoughts will no longer exist, but in your correct approach - in change in attitude (perception) towards them... And then you just won't care much about what comes to your mind at times.

Note this factwhen you have already plunged into an obsessive internal dialogue, or you have some kind of obsessive fear, sound logic completely stops working. You seem to be able to remember or think about something right and necessary at this moment, you can say sensible words to yourself, but if you did not succeed in following them right away, then the logic is no longer perceived, the obsessive state stubbornly dictates its own. Even understanding all the absurdity of this obsession (and many people understand), it is impossible to get rid of it either by willpower or by logic.

Impartial (no evaluation) deliberate observation no logical analysis (because, in essence, obsessive thoughts are absurd, and even if in some cases they come on business, they only remind and signal that we need some practical steps to solve the problem, and not that these thoughts should be thought), without identifying with this state (that is, observe everything that happens inside you: the thought process and sensations from the outside, you are separate, the obsessive state (thoughts and sensations) is separate), and natural, soft, without resistance to these thoughts switching (when you do not try in every possible way, by an effort of will, to distract yourself, get rid of, forget, etc., that is, you accept everything that is happening to you now), is the most correct way out of the situation and the natural process of recovery (release from an obsessive state and thoughts), except.

If you had done this initially, then you would not have this problem now.

P.S. Remember always. In any case, no matter what the obsessive thoughts tell you, there is no point in going deep into them many times and replaying the same thing a hundred or a hundred times.

Even if some obsession suddenly turns out to be justified and will inform you about a real case or some real problem, then you must solve it in a practical way ( actions), not thoughts. You just need to do what is needed; what the imposing thought tells you, and then there will be no reason to worry and think about it.

Best regards, Andrey Russkikh

I had already been preparing this article for a long time, but still could not write it for the reason that I was not sure that I had a complete idea of how to get rid of obsessive thoughts.

Now I have learned from my own experience how to deal with such thoughts and am fully ready to tell you about it.

Perhaps some of my readers think that from the moment I started creating this site, I completely got rid of all personal problems. Indeed, I had already changed a lot by the time of the first entries in this blog, but my current state cannot be called complete freedom from negative emotions, prejudices and fears.

My position can be characterized as a struggle with myself, during which experience and materials for these articles are born. Of course, in this confrontation between my true self and the primitive, instinctive, emotional self, the former gradually wins.

But this struggle continues: two steps back and four steps forward. Self-development stems from the awareness of one's shortcomings and work on them. If there is no struggle, then this does not mean a final victory, but rather a surrender.

After all, self-development is an endless process. I continue to face and struggle with some problems. Including with obsessive thoughts.

Mental "gum"

These thoughts have always been with me. They could occupy my head and make me nervous, endlessly mentally referring to the same experiences. It was like mental gum.

I constantly chewed the same thoughts in my head, tried to resolve them, to untie some imaginary knot. But from my attempts to weaken him, on the contrary, he tied up even more.

I remember how even in my distant childhood I could not stop thinking about some things that I could not think about at all. It must be that my brain's habit of endlessly "processing" some experiences and ideas was aggravated in times of other psychological problems.

I recently realized that I had learned to work with obsessive thoughts. Moreover, I am ready to formulate a method that allows me to get rid of them. I realized that this article may now finally appear.

By the way subscribe to my Instagram at the link below. Regular helpful posts on self-development, meditation, psychology and relieving anxiety and panic attacks.

Obsessive thoughts come from emotions

This is the first thing you should understand. Obsessive thoughts are of an emotional, unconscious, irrational nature. They are associated with your deprived of all reasonable fears, anxieties and complexes.

This is why they are intrusive. The emotions that form in you make you constantly think about something. They seem to signal “Problem! Problem! We must look for a solution! "

It's like a notification on Windows or other operating system, which appears in the form of an icon and will irritate your eyes until you update some program, remove a virus or install the required driver.

We can say that obsessive thoughts also have a positive function. They remind you of problems that you must solve. And you cannot just take and turn off these "notifications". It's hard to starve to death when your brain constantly reminds you of food.

But, unfortunately, obsessive thoughts do not always tell us about some real problem. The mechanism behind these thoughts is quite subtle. And if, for some reason, the "standard settings" of this mechanism go astray, then natural human fears and worries can take an extreme form, manifesting themselves in the form of obsessive thoughts, which are very difficult to get rid of.

Everyone knows how normal health care can turn into hypochondria, how a natural fear of danger threatens to turn into paranoia.

And now you become a regular visitor to medical forums, and thoughts about your health do not leave your head. You may be constantly thinking about danger while you are outside. Or you cannot get out of your head the thought of what people think of you, although you yourself do not see any point in thinking about it.

The conclusion I want to make is that obsessive thoughts are based on emotions. Therefore, they are not rational in nature. Therefore, they cannot be fought with logic.

This is a very important conclusion. I watched myself a lot, tried to understand how these thoughts appear and how they disappear, how my mind tries to deceive and confuse me. Earlier, in the evening, when I was very tired, I could not stop some thoughts.

For example, I could start thinking something bad about myself, blaming myself. No matter how skillful the inner lawyer was, who, using logic and common sense, tried to convince me that everything was not so bad (although of course he did not rule out a problem), the accusing party always prevailed, and everything became even more confusing. The more I tried to justify myself and get rid of annoying thoughts with the help of thoughts, the more I got confused and the more these thoughts overwhelmed me. This sport with itself caused the invisible knot to tighten even more.

The next day, in the morning, I didn't even want to think about this problem with a fresh mind. If I began to reflect on yesterday's "dialogue" with myself, then I understood that the problem had a place to be, but it was greatly exaggerated and exaggerated by my state. I realized that the problem should be solved, not thought about it. There is no sense in these thoughts.

After some time, I realized what the deception and deceit of these thoughts lay. If you try to destroy them with logic, they will still prevail, since they are irrational and illogical and make you believe in absurd ideas, in front of which common sense is powerless.

You can't eliminate obsessive thoughts with logic

If you are inclined to blame yourself, then you will continue to blame yourself, even if you have nothing to blame yourself for. Because such is your mood and it is from it that these thoughts flow, and not because of some real situation! Even if suddenly you manage to convince yourself for a minute that these thoughts are groundless, then after a while they will come back again if you resist them and continue to provide them with a logical rebuff.

If you are in a mood in which you think that you are sick, that something bad will happen to your health, then no amount of positive test results will convince you otherwise. "What if the analyzes were inaccurate?", "What if I have something else?" - you will think.

And you will not see an end to these thoughts, no matter how absurd from the standpoint of common sense they are.

It is useless to try to refute them. Because it is impossible. They will come back and attack you with new absurd arguments that you will believe in, because you are in such an emotional state that gives rise to these thoughts about non-existent problems.

Remember the state when you are worried about something. No matter how you convince yourself that everything will be fine, that there is no reason to worry, your perception, distorted by nervous tension and excitement, draws you a perspective in the darkest tones. Not because everything is really bad, but because you now perceive everything that way. If in this state you begin to think a lot and talk about the future, then your negative perception will attract your thoughts to the "negative" pole and it will be difficult to break out of this attraction.

The method of getting rid of obsessive thoughts

You need common sense, but only at the very beginning.

First of all, you need to figure out if your obsessive thoughts are based on some real problem. It happens that mental gum harasses you, exaggerating the problem. But an exaggerated problem does not mean there is no such problem.

So think about what the reasons are for these thoughts. Getting rid of thoughts, you should not ignore the problem, if there is one. For example, it seems to you that you have some kind of illness and thoughts about it do not leave your mind.

Maybe these are really not unfounded fears, and you have symptoms of some kind of disease. If so, see your doctor. If you have already done this and you have not found anything - forget it.

Regardless of whether there is a problem or not, there is no point in thinking about it all the time! You either try to solve it, if it exists, or forget about everything, if it doesn't exist.

This is the only moment in the fight against obsessive experiences in which you need to apply logic and common sense.

What to do?

Pick a moment in time when you are in the best possible morale, when you are more optimistic and stronger than usual. For example, in the morning when you are full of energy, after exercise or after.

Convince yourself that it makes no sense to go through the same thoughts thousands of times in your head. That these thoughts are deception or exaggeration, the purpose of which is to confuse you.

Understand the following things well

• you will not come to a solution to the problem if you constantly think about it
• obsessive thoughts do not have any rational basis, and if they are connected with some problem, then you will solve it, instead of constantly returning to it with thoughts
• you cannot get rid of the mental gum with logical reasoning and reflection

Realize the absurdity of obsessive thoughts

Further, you can once again, with the help of several logical theses, lay bare the absurdity of obsessive thoughts. For example: “I have nothing to be afraid of, because the tests showed nothing”, “they don’t die from attacks of panic attacks, I have read about this more than once”, “no one is trying to harm me”, “even if there really are things worth fearing you don't need to think about them 1000 times a day, this will only lead to nervous exhaustion. "

Your anti-intrusive argumentation should be intelligible and concise... You should not get carried away by arguing with yourself. Remember, in a long dispute with obsessive thoughts you are doomed to failure, in which emotions and fears will prevail over logic and mind and negative perception will itself "pull" thoughts to the negative pole.

To destroy the force of this attraction, you need to think less. When you think about annoying thoughts, chew them endlessly, you only reinforce them.

Set yourself up to ignore obsessive thoughts

Tell yourself that you will no longer think about what you think about all day long. and what plagues and torments you. Indeed, why chew mental gum all the time when it doesn't make any sense?

An obsessive thought is the repetition of the same thought in different ways. You will not receive any new and valuable information from it, you will not come to any decision.

Therefore, give yourself the intention not to get carried away with fruitless thoughts. After you said it to yourself, made a promise that you will not break, draw an invisible line... After this line, you no longer pay attention to obsessive thoughts.

Don't expect thoughts to return no more

They will return more than once. Tune in like this: "Let them come back, what's the difference, I realized that these thoughts are deceit and do not relate to the real problem."

Thoughts will return, sometimes you will start to untie this knot in your head again. As soon as you notice that you are again carried away by this, smoothly divert your attention to the side. Do not argue with these thoughts, do not be upset that they came (and they will come), ignore them, treat them with complete indifference.

If you suddenly need to remind yourself of the absurdity of these thoughts, do not go further than short formulations: "nothing will happen to me, and that's it." Don't get involved in an argument that you will never win. All the endless arguments that again make you afraid or nervous are lies and deception.

Remember what I said in the article: if you are in a psychological state in which you tend to worry about your health or your future, or your loved ones, then your mind will focus on this fear, no matter how absurd this fear is ... Don't turn your mind against yourself.

You probably know a puzzle toy that looks like a pipe. If you put the index fingers of different hands into both ends of this tube and try to free them with the help of physical effort, pulling your hands in different directions, then nothing will work, the tube will only squeeze the fingers more tightly. And if you relax and don't pull, everything will work out.

The same applies to obsessive thoughts. There is no need to want to get out of them at all costs. Relax, "hammer", let them be.

Be indifferent!

Your indifference to obsessive thoughts will rob your obsessive thoughts of their emotional content, which fills them with such a power that you sometimes cannot control. Over time, you will learn to manage your attention and notice those moments when you again began to think about what you should not.

Then thoughts will leave you forever.

But there is no need to wait impatiently when this will happen: "when will they leave!", "I try not to pay attention to them, but they still do not leave my head!" Such thoughts are not necessary!

Arm yourself with a salutary indifference: thoughts don't bother - okay, they come back - okay too. You don't need to turn thoughts about the appearance of obsessive thoughts into obsessive thoughts!

It’s not a big deal that repetitive reflections keep coming to you. If you have deprived them of their emotional "charge" and try to ignore them, then they will not plague you as they used to. In this case, they become just an annoying notification window (you might have seen such windows on your computer) that pops up in your head from time to time.

And this is not so scary. You can live with it. Thoughts sometimes appear, but they no longer attract your attention and do not confuse you. They are just short signals in the head that come and go.

When I began to treat obsessive thoughts in this way, they left my head and I learned to deal with them. AND fighting obsessive thoughts is not fightingif you take the fight as violent resistance. Relax!

Conclusion

I have already said in other articles that mental illnesses:, panic attacks, obsessive thoughts can either break you down or make you stronger (as in the statement of a famous philosopher).

Dealing with panic attacks can teach you. Dealing with depression can help you find the source of your happiness. And trying to control obsessive thoughts will teach you how to control your attention and control your mind.

Arm yourself with patience and work on yourself, then you will not only get rid of your ailments, but also get a valuable and useful experience as a result that will be useful in your life!

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"Pull your thoughts away from problems ... by your ears, by your heels or by any other means possible."... - Mark Twain

According to an old Cherokee Indian, a terrible battle is taking place in our minds right now. Two wolves are fighting inside us. The first is bad: it is full of anger, envy, resentment, greed, sadness, condemnation, inferiority, criticism and doubt. The second is good: it is full of joy, gratitude, love, kindness, empathy, understanding, confidence, compassion, and clarity. This struggle is going on within you right now, even if you do not notice it.

"Which wolf will win?" - you ask how the grandson of the Indian did it. “The wolf that you feed,” the wise grandfather replied. Your thoughts are two wolves. When you feed a bad wolf, your mind becomes unclear. You cannot get rid of a bad wolf. He lives within you for a reason. Personal growth is about full acceptance of yourself, not trying to hide your own flaws. Taming a bad wolf (not killing him) is what will help you neutralize your own thoughts so that they do not cause you pain and suffering.

Let the thoughts just be, don't cling to them

“The world we have was created in the process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our consciousness. " - Albert Einstein

Your thoughts can eat you alive.

It's okay to have emotions and thoughts. The problem is that you let them take over your behavior. If you identify with your feelings and thoughts, you lose perspective.

There is nothing wrong with thinking. It helps us understand issues and make decisions. Problems arise when your judgmental wolf takes over and you are trapped in your thoughts.

Too many thoughts distract you, take you away from the essence. Your inner wolves can cloud your mind. And then they start to eat you alive. Piece by piece.

The cause of the “chain reaction” accidents is not amateur drivers. Fog affects our perception, and this provokes collisions. Fog lowers contrast significantly, making objects appear more blurry and subtle.

Your thoughts have the same effect as fog.

The Mandelbaum Effect, the tendency of the eyes to focus on nearby objects in poor visibility conditions, cloudes our vision. We stop noticing everything else. Your inner wolves also cloud your vision. Allowing anxiety, fear, and stress to take over your thoughts can lead to head clouding.

Driving in fog is risky. This is why it is wise of you to slow down your vehicle. When the fog clears, visibility returns to normal. The reality did not change while it was foggy. The fog only affected your vision.

Don't give in to your thoughts. Your inner wolves come and go, just like the fog.

The Science Behind Our Thoughts. “I think, and think, and think, my thoughts have taken me away from joy a million times, but never brought me closer to it.” - Jonathan Safran Foer

Our state of mind is like a wild wolf. As Chögyam Trungpa, author of Sanity, explains, our minds “contain memories of the past, dreams of the future, and the fickleness of the present. We consider this to be a problematic situation. " You need to tame your wild wolf. Learning to distance yourself from thoughts will keep the wolves from eating you alive.

"Diffusion" is a term coined by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to describe the ability to separate oneself from one's own thoughts. Conversely, "fusion" means immersion in thoughts and giving them the right to control our behavior.

In his book Therapy of Acceptance and Responsibility in simple words"Russ Harris writes that" diffusion "is:

Look at thoughts, not through them; notice thoughts, but not succumb to them;
let thoughts come and go without clinging to them.

Thoughts do not control our actions, unless we allow them to do so. Remember not to overfeed your bad wolf. Neither your thoughts nor your emotions can determine how you behave. Don't identify with what you are suffering from.

We cannot escape our own thoughts (or emotions), but we are able to decide what to do in spite of them. Tame your inner wolves instead of killing them.

Harris suggests doing the following exercise to test this for yourself. Repeat to yourself, "I cannot raise my hand." Say it over and over. Raise your hand while continuing to repeat, "I cannot raise my hand." So you raised your hand in spite of your own thoughts, right? But you most likely doubted.

You are used to believing what your mind tells you, so it is very easy to mislead you. Realizing the power of your thoughts is the first step to freeing yourself from their influence.

How to "neutralize" your thoughts - exercises. "Life is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel." - Jin Reisin

You cannot control the moments when your wolves attack, but you can avoid the fate of being eaten alive. When you react to what's in your head, you allow your thoughts to take you away from the present moment and turn on “life on autopilot”.

Mindfulness is the opposite of living on autopilot.
As John Kabat-Zinn, author of Relieving Stress Through Mindfulness, writes: “Mindfulness means paying attention to something in a particular way; on purpose, at the present moment and without condemnation. " It is the practice of assessing the extent to which we identify with our ideas and beliefs, creating space for:

Awareness, not thinking;
openness and curiosity, not judgment;
flexibility of attention.

Mindfulness is not a distraction method; it is not meant for you to avoid your thoughts. If negative feelings arise, notice them and move on.

Try the following simple methodsto help you reduce the influence of your thoughts. Check the ones that work best for you, customize them and use them. The goal is not to drown out your thoughts - or wolves, but to keep them from blurring your vision.

1. Identify your thoughts:

The practice of meditation is not about eliminating thoughts, but about opening up to them. When you stop fighting the bad wolf, you gain control. When a thought comes up that wants to distract you, just label it. Say to yourself "thought" or "wolf." You can use this exercise not only when you are meditating.

2. Objectify your own thoughts:

By turning your thoughts into an object - in this case, wolves - you can neutralize their influence. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine that your thoughts are wolves. What color are they? How big are they? What sounds do they make? How close are they to you? Play with your thoughts by changing size, color, sound and shape
wolves.

This visualization helps me when I feel that I am carried away by several thoughts at the same time.

3. Treat your mind like a wolf:

Imagine that your mind is a talking wolf. "You spoke again, my mind." "Wolf, you've said that before." "My inner wolf is always responsive and worried." The purpose of this exercise is to listen to the voice of the mind as if it were coming from an animal and not from you. When someone else speaks, it seems less personal.

4. Question what your mind is saying:

React with skepticism, don't believe everything your mind says. "I'm not buying it." "Really, how so?" "Who said that?" When you question your own thoughts, you stop taking them at face value.

5. Turn your emotions into a noun:

Think back to the last time you regretted what happened to you. Share these moments with your loved one using the adjectives: "I lost the last two tennis matches, I'm a loser."

Every time you share something, the other person has to rethink it by turning adjectives into nouns. The goal is to make the story positive: "No, you are not a loser, you only lost two matches in a row."

6. Classify your own thoughts:

Not all wolf attacks are created equal. Challenging exactly what you are currently experiencing provides clarity. In addition, identifying your type of thinking will help you gain deep understanding and awareness. Whenever you feel threatened by your wolves, express your thoughts out loud using one of the following formats:

I think…
I feel…
I believe…
I remember…
I release ...
I have a physical symptom ...

7. Have fun:

Humor solves all problems, especially those caused by our way of thinking. When you stop taking your inner wolves - and yourself - seriously, you can relax and stop responding. Here are a few ways to help you clear your hazy thoughts using a humorous approach:

Play with your own voice: Experiment with different tones. Imagine yourself as a cartoon character, child, comedian, wolf, and so on.
Treat your thoughts like a wolf: "My bad wolf is trying to divert my attention ..." or "Sorry, my bad wolf, but I ran out of food for you."
Become a helicopter: imagine yourself lifting off the ground and climbing higher and higher, moving away from your own thoughts.
Change lenses: Imagine wearing glasses with cloudy lenses. What happens when you put on your new clear lens glasses?
Create a song: turn your thoughts into words, chant them out loud.

How do you deal with your inner wolves? How do you tame your own thoughts?