blacksheep
02-10-09, 17:53
Hello all.
Ok, I have been shown a little trick from a cognitive behavior therapist (a friend of a friend) I have been trying it for a couple of days and it has had small but noticeable effect.
Get a pad, and divide it into 5 columns. The first is for you to write the negative thought/health worry you are having down. Write it exactly as it is in your head.
The next column is to note down how you are feeling, panicked, sick with worry etc and any symptoms you feel, racing heart, sweating etc.
The next one is to honestly score the feeling between 0 and 100 (0 being totally fine and relaxed and 100 being a panic attack) sit for a while and honestly try and score it in the scale.
The next is to write what you are doing at the time (my fears often present when I am alone)
Then finally (the good bit) rewrite the first column in a positive way - it is hard to do at first but basically you can have the same fears but retrain your brain to put them in a way that doesn't send you running to the internet to work out what is wrong. Its about retraining your brain. For example one of mine says..."Oh my god, I found a lump, I bet it is cancer", I have rewritten it to say "I have noticed a small lump, I will monitor it for a month, should it still be there I will see a GP", another says "I think my headache is a tumour" I hve rewritten that to say "I have a headache, this is a common thing and nothing to concern myself with"
I promise it is working very slightly and I am told as I get used to it and keep at it, it will work more and more. But you have to do it EVERY time you have a negative thought, whatever it is, does not only have to be health anxiety thoughts. I am interested to see if anyone will try this and whether it helps them at all.
Ok, I have been shown a little trick from a cognitive behavior therapist (a friend of a friend) I have been trying it for a couple of days and it has had small but noticeable effect.
Get a pad, and divide it into 5 columns. The first is for you to write the negative thought/health worry you are having down. Write it exactly as it is in your head.
The next column is to note down how you are feeling, panicked, sick with worry etc and any symptoms you feel, racing heart, sweating etc.
The next one is to honestly score the feeling between 0 and 100 (0 being totally fine and relaxed and 100 being a panic attack) sit for a while and honestly try and score it in the scale.
The next is to write what you are doing at the time (my fears often present when I am alone)
Then finally (the good bit) rewrite the first column in a positive way - it is hard to do at first but basically you can have the same fears but retrain your brain to put them in a way that doesn't send you running to the internet to work out what is wrong. Its about retraining your brain. For example one of mine says..."Oh my god, I found a lump, I bet it is cancer", I have rewritten it to say "I have noticed a small lump, I will monitor it for a month, should it still be there I will see a GP", another says "I think my headache is a tumour" I hve rewritten that to say "I have a headache, this is a common thing and nothing to concern myself with"
I promise it is working very slightly and I am told as I get used to it and keep at it, it will work more and more. But you have to do it EVERY time you have a negative thought, whatever it is, does not only have to be health anxiety thoughts. I am interested to see if anyone will try this and whether it helps them at all.