We are often very sensitive people so that when something upsetting happens in our lives, it will imprint in our minds. Once there, it often sticks like a recording on videotape which we will replay over and over because we'll dwell on it as we try to analyse it. We'll go through every permutation trying to reassure ourselves but often there isn't anything we can find to reassure us to put us at ease so the thought will continue to frighten us.
When a thought frightens us in such a way, it will keep re-surfacing to "bully" us because we can't let it go as we feel "happier" worrying about it. We fear if we let it go, it could actually be true and something bad will happen as a result. We therefore become fixated by this frightening thought which then keeps us "trapped" in a cycle of fear i.e. the thought will make us feel anxious and the anxiety will make us worry more so we keep trying to find reassurance to ease the fear the frightening thought induces.
We know that if we're afraid of a spider, we have to make ourselves "gradually" get close to one until we can pick it up to prove to ourselves we actually have nothing to fear. Well, imagine the frightening thought as if it was an actual spider. When we think of a frightening thought, we try to resist it by trying to block it out but by doing this it keeps coming back because it continues to cause us worry. The same happens when we are confronted by a spider. We try to resist it by not going near it but the spider wil still be there worrying us so until we pluck up the courage to confront the spider, the spider will keep coming back.
A fear will keep coming back because it knows it scares us and it scares us because we are sensitive to that fear. Therefore, to confront a fear means to de-sensitise us to that fear so that it becomes the "norm" like any other object or thought. This is how CBT works.
The following is a suggestion based on what I've been taught but it is ONLY a suggestion to try so I can't say it will actually work. If however, anyone is prepared to give this a go, I would be very interested to hear if it has any effect or not but like I say, please bear in mind this is only something I've thought of based on what I've been shown so it's Just an experiment.
When we have a frightening thought, we need to "release it" by letting it go from our minds as if we're throwing away a newspaper full of things we can't do anything about.
Therefore, if you are troubled by a specific thought such as "what if" which could also become "I am...." or "I have......" which really frightens you, try the following.....
Find a pad of paper and on the first line of the blank page write exactly what your fear is using exactly the words you're hearing. To the right of what you've written, write "This is just fear, this is NOT real" (or NOT true).
This maybe hard to do the first time you write the word that frightens you so you may well feel very anxious just seeing the word of your fear written in front of you. However, on the second line, write Exactly the same again...."I am......" then beside it "This is just fear, this is NOT real".
On the third line repeat this and so on until you reach the bottom of the page. When you reach the bottom of the page see how you feel but if you feel "okish" then continue onto a new page and repeat the process word for word to the bottom of the page...........then stop.
Leave the 2 pages where they are and ignore them. The next day, pick up what you wrote and read it the first line. Ask yourself how you feel when you read the words. Do you still feel very anxious by the thought or by reading the words of your fear? You probably will as I'd expect it. Therefore, start writing the words again on a third sheet of paper until you've written another 2 pages...then stop and ignore it.
Repeat this process Every day and examine how you feel each day. You may well feel even worse at first and if these feelings don't ease after a few days then STOP the experiment because I don't want to make people feel more ill.
However, if you find any improvement, keep repeating the process until you just feel "bored" of writing it. If you do reach this stage, cut the pages down the middle and throw away the "I am..." side of the page and say to yourself "I release this thought from my mind because it no longer frightens me". Keep the other half of the page that says "it's just fear...." so that if anything in the future triggers the memory of your fear, you can read it to remind yourself that you overcame the fear so have nothing to fear from this memory of it.
Please don't attempt this if it you feel you can't or aren't ready and Please Stop if you start feeling Really ill after a few days because I don't want to make people even more ill as I'm "hoping", purely as an idea based on what I've been shown, that it'll help to make someone feel better!
Also IF you do attempt this, if you need any advice, Please feel free to ask me. I just hope it works and does some good for someone.