False Comfort <\/em>trying to impose their frame on each other.<\/p>\nThis starts an endless cycle where Worried Voice<\/em> triggers insecurities, regrets, and anxiety, while False Comfort<\/em> is trying to “solve” each of them:<\/p>\n\n- Worried Voice:\u00a0<\/strong>What if I X?<\/li>\n
- False Comfort<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>If you X, you will Y.<\/li>\n
- Worried Voice: <\/strong>But then Z will happen.<\/li>\n
- False Comfort: <\/strong>If Z happens, you’ll handle it, just like last time.<\/li>\n
- Worried Voice:\u00a0<\/strong>I still feel ashamed of the last time.<\/li>\n
- False Comfort: <\/strong>Yes, but you learned a lesson.<\/li>\n
- Worried Voice:\u00a0<\/strong>How do I know that I’ll do better next time?<\/li>\n
- … repeat ad infinitum.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As you can see, this creates a destructive cycle of these roles explaining to each other.<\/p>\n
The victim is the owner of the mind, ending in a chaos of racing thoughts that try to top each other up.<\/p>\n
The solution is the role of Wise Mind<\/em>, which just accepts the thoughts and lets them be.<\/p>\nIdeally, an inthrusive thought should be handled as such:<\/p>\n
\n- Worried Voice:\u00a0<\/strong>I think…<\/li>\n
- Wise Mind<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>This is an inthrusive thought.<\/li>\n
- Worried Voice: <\/strong>What if…?<\/li>\n
- Wise Mind<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>I accept and allow thoughts.<\/li>\n
- Worried Voice:\u00a0<\/strong>But what if…?<\/li>\n
- Wise Mind<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>I’m letting time pass.<\/li>\n
- Worried Voice:\u00a0<\/strong>This is serious…<\/li>\n
- Wise Mind<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>Not responding. No answer is needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
An alternative way to describe this would be:<\/p>\n
<\/span>Unwanted Thoughts Aren’t Actual Problems<\/span><\/h3>\nThey shouldn’t be different than thinking about carrots… Or anything else that’s “normal”.<\/p>\n
At the end, it’s all just thoughts, there’s no need to rationalize or act on every one of them.<\/p>\n
There’s nothing to solve, there’s nothing to address.<\/p>\n
Just move on.<\/p>\n
<\/span>The Formula<\/span><\/h2>\nIn summary, this is the formula that the authors suggest:<\/p>\n
\n- Recognize\u00a0<\/strong>– A-ha! Here’s a thought that worries me.<\/li>\n
- Just thoughts\u00a0<\/strong>– Trivialize it to “it’s just a thought”.<\/li>\n
- Accept and allow\u00a0<\/strong>– Thoughts come, let them to. Just don’t address the content.<\/li>\n
- Float and feel<\/strong> – Maintain an attitude without activity, urgency, or effort.<\/li>\n
- Let time pass\u00a0<\/strong>– Don’t rush to “solve” the thought. Let it be. Observe your reactions.<\/li>\n
- Proceed\u00a0<\/strong>– Don’t be practically handicapped.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
To be honest, I found some of the steps redundand because they’re too similar to each other.<\/p>\n
Plus, the last thing a chaotic mind needs is to remember a list of 6 items.<\/p>\n
However, the idea is priceless and I made a simpler version of it that works perfectly for me:<\/p>\n
<\/span>TLDR Recognize and accept.<\/span><\/h3>\nAnd just continue.<\/p>\n