Monday; December 16

Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing some research on a concept called “intrusive thoughts”.  Basically, this is an emotional condition where certain thoughts get struck in our mind and you can’t seem to get rid of the them.  You stress and worry; but since they are just “thoughts” there is no real solution, so the process continues and anxiety sets in.  In all honesty, I have struggled with this for a while, but I never really understood the cause nor the process; however, I recently came across a book that has helped.  In their book, “Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts” Sally Winston and Martin Seif set out to help people work through these challenges.  While I won’t try to reduce the book to one summary statement, one thing they did bring up was that a “thought” is just a “thought”.  Now, while on the surface this seems to a no-brainer, there are a lot of people who become anxious or stressed by thoughts that they treat as reality.  They fear what MIGHT happen.  Many people who deal with this challenge do well in the midst of crisis; it is coming to grips with uncertain future where they struggle.  They can’t control outcomes that haven’t even been determined and that puts a burr in their mind. 

Now, I will stop here because some of you probably have no idea what I am talking about; however, I think there are many of us who deal with this.  No matter if this describes you or not, I think there is value in remembering that a thought is just a thought.  We may not be able to change the thoughts that force their way into our consciousness, but we can make it a point to invest our emotional energy in dealing with “facts”, not thoughts.  Address the here and now, don’t get spun up by what might happen in the future.  (By the way, most of scenarios created by unwanted intrusive thoughts never come to fruition.) 

Many people are familiar with the Serenity Prayer used by Alcohol Anonymous:  “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”.  If we are struggling with unwanted thoughts this might be a good place to start.  It’s not scripture, but it’s a good guide. 

Think About It!


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