Here’s why we can’t suppress our thoughts…
In the famous “White Bear” experiment of 1987, Harvard professor Daniel Wegner and his colleagues asked a group of students to verbalise their stream of consciousness for a 5 minute period and were asked to try not to think of a white bear, but to ring a bell in case they did.
Guess what happened…
They were ALL RINGING THEIR BELLS!
In fact, those who were told ‘NOT’ TO THINK of the white bear THOUGHT OF IT MORE than those who were just told TO THINK of a white bear.
What this study tells us is that it’s impossible to suppress thoughts.
You can’t actively not think about something by telling yourself not to think about it.
However, this is what many people still try to do - they try to stop overthinking by telling themselves not to think about whatever they’re thinking about.
Go figure - it doesn’t work, and in fact only leads you to overthink and ruminate even more.
Completely counter-intuitive.
So if suppression doesn’t work, what do we do? THE OPPOSITE!
Acknowledge your thoughts. Offer them an outlet.
And one of the most effective techniques is journaling.
Grab a notebook + pen, and journal responses to these prompts:
1️⃣ What’s on my mind?
2️⃣ What am I worried about?
3️⃣ Why am I worried about that?
4️⃣ Is this a realistic concern to have? What are other possible outcomes?
5️⃣ What can I do to increase my chances of a more positive outcome?
6️⃣ What action will I take?
Have you had an experience with journaling? How was it? Share in the comments.👇
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