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Running thoughts1/21/2024 This strategy is often used in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a therapy program that was designed for people who have consuming thoughts about hurting themselves. One strategy that can be helpful when you’re having racing thoughts is to find a healthy distraction. Other times, the situation that you’re worrying about is out of your control - and it may be best to try to distract yourself from ruminating about it. Sometimes, it’s helpful to figure out what’s bothering you and write it down. A 2018 randomized controlled trial found that this type of journaling reduced emotional distress across all people tested. If you’re a highly emotionally expressive person, then writing your racing thoughts down might help you make more sense of them and reduce how much anxiety you feel about them.Īnother writing strategy is to use positive affect journaling, where you focus on writing about the positive aspects of your life. For people who were generally low in emotional expressivity, writing about their emotions actually made their anxiety worse.Ĭonsider what you know about yourself. However, there was a catch: the people who were generally very emotionally expressive were the ones who experienced less anxiety. The participants were asked to write for 20 minutes per session about their worst life experiences. You may need to do this many times, and that’s OK.Įxpressive writing and journaling can be very effective for people with anxiety.Ī 2015 study found that some people who participated in an expressive writing group experienced significantly lower anxiety after 3 months. When that happens, gently redirect your attention to the grounding exercise again. While trying this exercise, it’s likely that your thoughts will wander back toward anxious thoughts. When your mind is occupied by focusing on your surroundings there’s less room for anxious or ruminating thoughts. This technique allows you to gain some space from your anxious thoughts. Are they soft, bumpy, or cool to the touch? When you feel three things, notice how they feel in your hands. For example, when listing five things you can see, really pay attention to what they look like, such as their color and shape. But other things work too, such as putting some toothpaste on your tongue. If you have food or a beverage nearby, that’s a good option. If you need to pick up objects to sniff them, that’s okay. Next, try to distinguish two different scents.Pick up three objects that are near you and feel their texture and weight in your hands.Now, name four sounds that you can hear.First, name five things you see around you.One simple and common grounding practice is the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise: Grounding practices involve using your senses to reconnect with your body and the world around you. It’s a strategy that mental health experts often use with people who have experienced trauma. Grounding is a way to reattach to the present moment without getting lost in the past or future.
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