This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 pm and is filed under Life Enhancing Tips and How To's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Overthinking….head chatter, the “gremlin”, the enemy in your head. We all know what that overthinking is like, we have all experienced, we all have different methods of managing that negative head chatter.
Albert Ellis, the developer of , Rational emotive behavior therapy, focused his work on DISPUTING those negative statements. His method is the ABCDE method of dealing with negative thinking
You made the decision to join a weight loss program, but last night you ate a pint of double fudge ice cream…..
A: Activating Event Something occurs which sets the head chatter in motion.
You have been loyal to your weight loss program. Last night you ate a pint of double fudge ice cream.
B: Beliefs What beliefs get activated by the event?
“I am a pig. I will never lose this weight. EVER. Soon I will weight 300 lbs.
C: Consequences What feelings result from the beliefs which have been activated by the events?
sadness, shame, disappointment, discourgement
D: Dispute:(Get your attorney hat on) Challenge the Head Chatter, Challenge the Gremlin. Put your Gremlin/Head Chatterer on the witness stand.
“Will eating a pint of ice cream on one evening destroy your weight loss plan?
“Are you really a pig?”
“Will you never, ever lose weight? You have lost weight in the past even if you did have ice cream occasionally. You have been successful using this program before.”
“Will eating the ice cream really increase your weight to 300 lbs. When have you ever weighed 300 lbs.”
E: Effect What are the feelings that result from disputing your head chatter, negative thoughts, or the gremlin? Ask the Gremlin to step down from the witness stand. Call to the stand your Adult, Nurturing Self (ANS) Ask the Nurturing Self to respond to the event which occured last night.
“I have been following the program and eating appropriately for over a month. Yesterday I did not eat lunch or dinner. I let myself go for too many hours without refueling. I also drove by my favorite ice cream place and bought the ice cream. I guess I could havde gotten a cone, instead of a pint. I also will make a committment to follow my program, keep track of my points. This program has been a great success for me in the past. I know where I went off track, and I know how to get back on track. If anything, this episode taught me what I need to do to stay safe and on track.
Again the key is to realize a THOUGHT is not a FACT. If it’s a thought we need not treat it or respond to it as if it is fact…instead our job is to challenge any kind of thought which promotes a negative sense of self, discouragement about our actions, or leads to negative behaviors.
Shut off that head chatter….and move forward
Blog On…
read comments (1)
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I’ve found that when I actually force myself to go through those steps it helps shut the head chatter down for awhile. The main problem I have is stepping outside that chatter long enough to be able to put them to use.
I’m a work in progress still and hopefully always will be.