Getting sucked into negative thought patterns can really derail your mental health and make it extremely challenging to make any progress in your life. These thoughts can manifest in many different ways. For example, you may often think to yourself:
- I’m not good enough
- I’m not smart enough
- I’m ugly
- I don’t deserve to be happy
- I’m not qualified
- And so on, and so on.
Negative thoughts can zap your confidence and prevent you from living a productive life. Luckily, Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) therapy offers a powerful way to interrupt negative thought patterns, and it’s called Cognitive Defusion.
Cognitive Defusion is really just a fancy way of saying your thoughts are not facts, and you can learn how to break out of the grip of negative thoughts to get back to the present moment.
Keep reading if you want to learn how you can use this ACT therapy technique to improve your mental health.
What is Cognitive Defusion?
Cognitive Defusion is a technique that was developed by Dr. Steven Hayes, an American psychologist, to help patients suffering from depression and anxiety. Simply put, it is the process of recognizing your thoughts as just thoughts, rather than facts or truths about reality. When you become aware of these thoughts for what they are, you’ll feel less inclined to act on them automatically. By doing this, you can gain more control over your emotions and behaviors.
I often like to use the example of comparing your thoughts to a GPS. When you’re driving, the GPS tells you which way to go, but if it tells you to turn right when there’s no right turn, you’re probably not going to listen. The same can be true for our thoughts. You may tell yourself you’re not good enough, but is that actually true?
We can use Cognitive Defusion to create some distance between ourselves and our thoughts, so they don’t have as much control over our mood.
Step 1: Use “The Observing Self” to Zoom Out From Your Negative Thoughts
Another concept in ACT therapy is this idea of the “Observing Self,” or self as context. To illustrate what that means more clearly, I like to use the example of playing a video game.
When you’re playing a game, you’re sitting in your seat observing and controlling the character’s actions. You can see the whole picture of everything that’s surrounding that character and you’re aware of any present danger. You control the character; it doesn’t control you.
Think of your mind in the same way. When we’re zoomed into our mind, we can get lost in a sea of ruminating negative thought patterns. When this happens, it can feel like you’re drowning and it’s impossible to separate yourself from those thoughts or emotions.
If you zoom out and use the “Observing Self” to objectively analyze your thoughts they may not have as strong of a hold on you.
Another good visualization example of this concept is to imagine standing close to a wall, so close that your nose is touching it. What can you see when you think about this? Probably just paint color. Then imagine taking several steps back. Can you see more? What wasn’t in focus before? As we step back from the wall we can see more clearly. The same is true when dealing with our thoughts.
“Observing Self” is basically mindfulness in practice. When you’re struggling with negative thoughts, zoom out from your mind to become fully present, and aware of where you are and what you’re doing.
Step 2: Define and Identify Your Negative Thoughts
Now that you know how to zoom out and analyze your thoughts more objectively, you can start to identify individual thoughts and how you feel about them. Let’s look at this in practice.
Perhaps you are about to start a new job, or you’re thinking about applying to one, but you’re experiencing the thought, “I’m not qualified enough to take on this role.” Write this thought down and how it makes you feel. In this example, the person having this thought may be feeling:
- Lack of confidence.
- Anxiety about being successful in a new role.
- Depression because they feel like they can’t move forward in their career.
Let’s consider another example. If a person is feeling down and out, they may be thinking, “nothing good ever happens to me.” This thought may make them feel defeated and depressed about their life. They may even feel like they have no control over the situation.
Writing these types of thoughts down when you have them is another way to zoom out and gain control over the situation. Once you’ve written them down you can start to label them.
Step 3: Notice and Label Your Thoughts
Now that you’ve gotten your thoughts out of your head and written out, you can start to take some action. Label your thoughts to help them stand out. For example, you could label a particularly intrusive thought as “obsessive” or “destructive.” You can also label them as “neutral,” “positive,” or “negative.” Another option is to use the labels “helpful” and “unhelpful.”
Once you label each thought you can choose how you want to respond to the ones that are most distressing to you.
Step 4: Accept and Rephrase Your Negative Thoughts
Armed with your list of labels you’re now able to stop the negative thought patterns. Start by accepting the thought. So, instead of fighting it or trying to get rid of it, just acknowledge that you’re having it without getting caught up. One of the best ways to do this is by rephrasing the thought and saying it out loud.
Let’s go back to the example of the person who is anxious about starting or applying for a new job. Instead of thinking “I’m not qualified enough to take on this role,” they can say, “I’m having the thought that I’m not qualified enough to take on this role.”
Notice the difference? Reframing your thoughts makes it possible for you to detach from them.
Step 5: Consider the Validity of Each Thought
Sticking with the example of career anxiety, detaching from that thought by rephrasing it can help you decide whether it’s true or not. So, if someone says to themselves, “I’m not qualified enough,” then it sounds like a factual statement. When you rephrase it and say “I’m having the thought that I’m not qualified enough,” there’s room for analysis.
Detached from the thought the same person may now think, “well, that’s actually not true I am qualified because I have several years of experience, and I’ve been successful with this type of work in the past.”
If the thought is not based in fact, simply acknowledge it as a negative thought and let it go. If you’re having trouble letting it go, try using a visualization. I like to think about my thoughts as leaves floating down a stream. Or you can think of the thought as a pop-up ad on your computer and simply close out of it.
Explore negative thoughts as nothing more than ideas — passing comments that don’t mean anything about your worth or ability to succeed. When you do this, you’ll often find that these types of thoughts are often exaggerated or distorted versions of reality.
Practice Makes Perfect
Learning how to stop negative thought patterns isn’t easy. Like any mindfulness technique it takes practice. I still struggle with negative thoughts when I’m feeling down, or physically unwell, but, because I meditate every day and continually focus on my mental health I can overcome these emotions rather quickly. In the past, I could spin out for days or weeks.
Now that you know how to use cognitive defusion, go forth and make those negative thoughts your bitch! You’re a strong person, you’ve got this, and I believe in you.
Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter by entering your email below. No spam, just life-changing mental health content delivered every Tuesday. And if you want to hear an extended version of this story, listen to the podcast episode at the top of the page.
Enjoyed this post? Please consider, buying me a cup of coffee to show your appreciation. Every little donation helps me continue to create great mental health content.
