Thought Stopping Technique

Thought stopping is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique that can help anyone break free of continuous thoughts that may cause anxiety by using awareness and practice to change these thoughts.  Thought stopping can be a quick and effective method to distract yourself from your own anxiety by thinking about something else. One can practice thought stopping whenever anxious thoughts start to ruminate in one's mind. Once mastered, you will fill more in control of your thoughts and be able to stop anxious thoughts on command.

Here are some steps to practice thought stopping:

1. Think about what anxious thoughts you have struggled with or are currently struggling with and identify them so that you can have more awareness regarding your own anxiety.
2. Prepare a calming thought ahead of time that you will be able to use in times of anxiety.  For example, "I am peaceful and safe," "I'm on a beach and feel the sand under my feet," or "I am confident."
3. Be aware of your anxious thought.
4. Immediately tell yourself "STOP" in your mind.  For visual thinkers, you may want to visualize a stop sign and for kinesthetic thinkers, you may want to wear a rubber band and gently snap it on your wrist.
5. Exchange your anxious thought for a neutral/ calming thought.  The new thought can either be a general pre-planned thought or you can replace your current thought with something more accepting. For example, if you are anxious on a flight with turbulance and are thinking the plane is going down, a replacement thought could be "That was a bump in the road, we are in good hands with the pilot."
6. Continue to repeat your new thought in your mind, or even out loud if you need, until the anxious thought is extinguished.

Remember for this technique to work, you need to practice the technique! Also, if one visual or statement is not working for you, you may need to try different ones until you find what works best for you.

Brought to you by Thrive Counseling Center LLC in Metairie, LA at www.thrivecounselingcenterllc.com.