This is one of the easiest and very effective techniques that you can use to get rid of obsessive or negative thoughts. You can use it anytime you have a negative or an obsessive thought that you cannot control. This technique allows you to distort the cognitive process of a negative thought by changing how your problem is represented in your mind, you can change your reaction to it.
Please remember that this is not a universal technique to get rid of all your problems or negative thoughts. This is just a technique to help you deal with silly or negative thoughts which you know are not true. Serious problems or reoccurring thoughts require attention and counselling work.
- Quickly observe or play a movie of your problem. Determine the level of your discomfort on the 0-10 scale. Where 0 means it is not a problem at all and 10 means that it is a big problem.
- Watch it again in Black/White.
- Watch it again in Black/White and triple the speed of the movie. Watch it again inside-out. I am not sure how exactly your are going to do this, but your unconscious mind will find a way.
- Watch it again backwards.
- Watch it again upside down.
- Watch everything that is left on the screen in Oval Form.
- Look closer at movie and notice that the entire movie is playing in a toilet. Pull the handle and flush the toilet.
- Reset your mind. Shift your attention on something else. Look at your ceiling, your floor and your shoes. What is your license plate number?
- Check your results. Think of the situation again, what is your response on the 0-10 scale. It has probably decreased and what used to be negative is now not important enough to remember.
Credit (CC4): Ivan Staroversky – staroversky.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-negative-and-obsessive-thoughts
