Stress and Anxiety: Irrational Ideas Discussion Technique

Is about discuss actively and directly all the irrational beliefs that lead us to feel bad or act inappropriately ”. It is a strategy that debates mental distortions, or irrational beliefs that repeat them so much we end up turning them into absolute truths and believing them "at face value", but without a solid basis that justify. We often assume these beliefs by continually talking to ourselves, but in a totally inappropriate way.

Human beings have the ability to engage in dialogues and / or conversations with ourselves by think or interpret the circumstances that happen to us and we can do it practically on any thing. This internal conversation that happens in our thinking and imagination also has the quality of being rational or irrational. When it is irrational, it contributes to increasing, and sometimes disproportionately, both our emotional reactions and our inappropriate behaviors to stress.

Next, we show examples of irrational ideas that we must combat and what are the causes of our psychological discomfort:

For example:

1. "I am having a very bad time but mine not so much or at least they do not show it as I would like".
2. "I have to manage to finish this or that and make it perfect, I have to control everything so that it goes well, if not what are others going to think of me".
3. “Others don't think about things as much as I do, it's just that I am like that and I always have been”)

How could I debate it, what could I argue against? For example we could discuss it thinking the following:

1. "If I'm having a hard time, I'm sure those around me too, they just don't show it by not adding more pain to what I manifest, from now on I'm going to work whatever it takes to get out of this situation that overwhelms me, looking for other alternatives that allow me to feel more comfortable, I have my whole life to in front of"…
2. "Ok I have to do this job but little by little, I have always done it and it has turned out much better than I thought, why Now it's not going to be like that, besides, even if it doesn't turn out perfect, is the world going to sink? "By doing everything you can, it will be much"…
3. "Everyone who is responsible cares about doing things as well as possible and for that alone, enough is enough, not by giving more laps I will achieve better results, dedicate the necessary time but without obsessing over it, without turning it into a dialectical battle that almost always ends up being negative, I will look for other alternatives and solutions "...

In order to fight irrational ideas we must confront them and discuss them with ourselves, see what part of reality and truth they have, not settle for anticipating simple answers without having questioned, contrasted, analyzed, experienced and put into operation but really, looking for other more realistic and positive alternatives, without deceiving ourselves, without looking for absurd justifications, no to settle for the subjective as we have been doing so far because as the facts show us it does not work, to put ourselves in the place of the other, try to see how a person who does not have the problems that I have would see it, learn to observe how others work who see things in a much more way positive. In short, try to see how someone else would see it and most importantly allow ourselves the luxury of making mistakes to learn from them, analyzing the consequences, experimenting with them and selecting what best suits us. work.

For example: "You consider that you do everything wrong" but how do people who really love you see you? " "What do the real events say as a result of your actions" "It is certainly annoying and undesirable not being able to sleep, but are you going to die for it? Are you going to die if you don't make absolutely everything perfect? ​​Are you going to feel better if you start with relax or on the contrary you prefer to continue regretting without doing anything to modify your state emotional? Is it so important for you and yours that you only live for work or can you do without something and contemplate other things learning to enjoy them? Is it better to ruminate on your problems or open the doors to search for solutions? Is it better to regret or put the means to solve the problem? "You mention that you get, sometimes so nervous, that you feel terrible." It is undoubtedly annoying and undesirable to feel terrible, but are you really going to die for it? Have you died despite how bad you looked? Have you allowed yourself the luxury of seeing what could have happened if you had used your time and energy to relax a little or to look for other alternatives? Have you allowed yourself the luxury of seeing if spending time relaxing is more effective than dedicating all your effort and your energies in reaching the goal continually reviewing how bad you have felt in certain situations? Have you allowed yourself to compare the difference? Maybe you are exaggerating and the time has come to try other things, to see how you feel emotionally, physically and psychologically and to be able to decide whether or not it is worth it. It is about understanding the irrationality of your beliefs and how you have learned to perceive things from a inappropriately, which has generated emotions that you cannot control, that escape your hands.

Therefore, it is necessary that adopt a new way of thinking, which will be as positive as possible and eminently rational, it is about forcing yourself to contrast your way of thinking, not to abandon without fighting, to seek other alternatives that contradict your beliefs, to learn to interpret reality in a more adaptive way and think how another person would do it where Anxiety will not occupy most of your time, what other alternatives or solutions are you ignoring and yet they are there even when you don't go to S?. Fight for your thoughts with the same force and intensity as you have with your negative ideas and feelings.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.