"When I was in the thick of it, well-meaning people told me to challenge my thoughts. Replace them with better ones. Argue. Distract myself. Tell the thoughts to "take a hike." I tried all of that, and none of it worked. The harder I fought, the tighter the knot became. Instead, what helped was learning ways to find the thoughts' presence less upsetting."
"One way was realizing that I was not punishing myself. Another was to allow the thoughts to become...well, the word I used was wispy. I tried to allow the thoughts to become wispy. Allow them to thin, to become gauzy, to lighten into mist. When I'm gripped by an intrusive thought, my whole body joins in the fight. My shoulders tighten. My throat closes."
Six years ago there was a resurgence of Pure O, obsessive intrusive thoughts that lack visible compulsions and can spin endlessly. Attempts to argue with, replace, or distract from the thoughts intensified distress. Relief came from approaches that reduced the upsetting quality of the thoughts rather than trying to eliminate them. Techniques included recognizing the absence of self-punishment, allowing thoughts to become 'wispy' and less solid, and attending to bodily sensations where tension registers. Noticing physical contractions and inhabiting the body lessened the thoughts' conviction and reduced their grip on daily functioning.
Read at Psychology Today
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