By Jennifer Roberts on February 26, 2015
I am in the business of thinking that it matters what you think. From the perspective of cognitive behavioral therapy – what we think, and how we distort our thinking is a critical component of the work in therapy. We skew thoughts by our perceptions. Learning to identify common distortions such as viewing the world in black and white terms, minimizing positive experiences while magnifying negative experiences, and emotional reasoning (I feel it, therefore it must be true) is the bulwark of the beginning sessions. Each person has a few personal favorite distortions, which are influenced by early history and personal choice. As one becomes comfortable naming common thought distortions, the thought starts to lose some of it’s power. Specifically the distorted thought can no longer automatically trigger a specific response. By naming the distortion, and slowing the stimulus-response cycle there becomes an opportunity for a pause.
In that moment of pause, there is excitement and a sense of possibility.The freedom from the automatic response is a part of what we are aiming for in therapy. People seek out therapy for the possibility to make different choices in their behavior. In cognitive behavioral therapy the second stage of inquiry is into what we call replacement statements. These are thoughts that run counter to the distortion. This replacement thought can function (with repetition and over time) to change the entire pattern of the stimulus-response cycle because the stimulus (undistorted thought) will change.
This process is nuanced, individual and complicated by a myriad of behaviors and thoughts, overlaid on the original distortion. These cycles can result in people feeling depressed, anxious, hopeless, fearful, and trapped. However, once the general concept is understood there is a generalizability to the effectiveness of the process. There are several books written for the lay person that discuss this work, including Feeling Good by David Burns, MD. I often recommend this to people I am working with as a text to help in learning this new skill.
Posted in cognitive behavioral therapy | Tagged anxious, behavior change, cognitive behavioral therapy, depressed, distorted thoughts, fearful, hopeless |
By Jennifer Roberts on April 10, 2014
While you have been anchoring in your breath, your mind has been busy telling stories. These stories are of interest especially the ones that do not focus on positive emotions. While we are meditating, we want to return to focusing on our breath. But at others times in our day, the stories we tell ourselves matter. Much of the work I do with people focuses on the stories that are spoken internally. These narratives are often repetitive, and negative – contributing to depression, anxiety or stasis.
The premise I want to explore today is the effect of the stories we tell ourselves. And I mean the effect on the neural structures in the brain. I would like to thank my friend for sharing the article Buddha’s Brain: – Wisebrain.org by Rick Hanson Ph.D. with me. His definition of this phenomenon is most useful; ” with a little skillfulness, you can use your mind to change your brain to benefit your whole being – and everyone else you affect. ” The skillfulness he is referring to is simply to sit still, and focus on your breath. Additional skillfulness involves and at other facilitating positive emotions. We can do this by intentionally noticing, focusing and grounding in positive experiences. Simply replaying positive, happy interactions in our day can help to change our neural structures. The changes enhances our ability to notice more positive experiences in the future. This concept is based on neuroscientist saying “what fires together, wires together”. What we notice, and how we spend the majority of our time thinking, can strengthen previous “wiring” (in this instance negative events) or create new wiring (positive events).
In a typical day we are bombarded with negative news, our brains are skewed to notice negative and dangerous events, and people tend to gossip about upsetting information. We need to make a conscious effort to counteract this negative bias. Make a decision today, try and really take in a good event- repeat the narrative to yourself. Make a decision today t0 say something positive to yourself about your appearance, and your performance. Slow down and take in something uplifting or beautiful. Add this practice to your daily practice of abdominal breathing, and meditation. These small actions can literally change your brain to increase your positive emotions and happiness.
Posted in Meditation, Mindfulness, neuroscience, positive emotions | Tagged cognitive behavioral therapy, focus, meditation, mindfulness, positive emotions |
By Jennifer Roberts on December 27, 2013
We return again to breathing. We have already discussed that you should Breathe deep into your lower abdomen and draw your attention to your breath throughout the day. This intentional awareness around breathing allows us to cultivate the breath as an anchor in mindful experience. Breath as an anchor simply means that when we begin to sit still, we can use our focused attention to our breath as a signal to the mind/body that it is time to be fully present. As we sit, we deeply inhale, filling our lungs and exhale at the same rate, fully emptying the air. Beginners can rest assured that simple, deep, abdominal breathing with a gentle refocusing on the breath when necessary is a solid first step. Sitting still means finding a grounded position, with an erect spine. You can sit on the floor, cushions, a bench or even a chair (but don’t lean back). While different schools of meditation recommend various sitting postures, just remember that keeping a straight spine is the main point to begin from. Set an alarm for a period of time that is comfortable for you, (even 5 or 10 minutes is a good start), find your seat, anchor yourself in your breath and be. As your mind wanders, don’t be discouraged, just gently bring yourself back to the breath. Don’t expect a blissful trance of no thought, but rather, try to Tune In to the Here and Now. Start easy and go slow. Patiently bring yourself back to the breath again and again. We have added the goal of sitting still to the breath practice. Do this as often as you can. Anchor yourself in the breath.
Posted in Breath, Meditation, Mindfulness | Tagged breath, focus, meditation, mindfulness |
By Jennifer Roberts on November 30, 2013
You are noticing your breath. Now we want to look at where you are breathing from in your body.
Many people are upper-chest breathers, this means that the breaths are short and rapid, not fully oxygenating the blood. We want to move the breath to the lower abdomen. This can begin to occur just by drawing our attention to where the breath originates from.
Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Close your eyes and take several deep, slow inhalations focusing on moving the breath to your lower abdomen. As you inhale, your belly will expand like a balloon. As you exhale, begin to pull the lower abdomen into your spine, pushing the air out like a bellows.
In the beginning this practice of moving the breath into your diaphragm may take some effort, that is fine. Make a commitment to keep practicing until it feels easier to breath from low in your belly.
Be gentle, but do this often, throughout the day, everyday. Pull the breath down deep, fully expanding the belly, then pull the belly in, expelling all the air completely. This is the next step in our breathing practice, drawing the breath deep in the abdomen, exhaling slowly and completely.
Posted in Breathing, Mindfulness | Tagged breath, breathing |
By Jennifer Roberts on November 30, 2013
One breath creates change.
We do it so much that we ignore it. “It” in this instance is breathe. And yet, research in neuroscience and anecdotal reports over the ages indicate that attention to the breath can be a powerful force for change in the lives of human beings.
Recent research by Pierre Phillipot demonstrates that our breathing patterns can create our emotions. By manipulating our breath we can change how we feel. If we create an intention to pay attention to our breath we enter into a practice that is going to create sustainable change in our lives.
Different traditions have developed specific breathing practices. There are so many approaches that anyone can find a practice style that will work for them. The key is to begin to pay attention, to notice, to carefully become aware of what we so easily take for granted.
Take cues from your environment to help you pay attention. Set reminders on your computer or phone, schedule attentiveness to your breath, until it becomes a habit.
The first action is to learn to pay attention to what we usually ignore. Breathe. Later we will discuss how to breathe, where to breathe from, when to focus on breathing patterns. But for today, just tune in to your breath.
Posted in Breathing, Mindfulness | Tagged breath, breathing |
