From Scattered to Centered: Understanding and Transforming the Distracted Brain by Alicia R. Maher

Author:Alicia R. Maher
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2013-03-27T21:00:00+00:00

Emotional Reactivity 59

“upScAle” Your thoughtS

In the last activity, you analyzed your thoughts to see how they lead to reactions and affect your mood. Observing the connection between thoughts

and moods is helpful. You may find yourself already automatically substi-

tuting unhelpful thoughts for other more positive ones.

One way to change your thoughts (and stabilize your mood) is to

transform them using the “thought transformation scale.” (See picture

below.)

Make a scale of your thoughts from level 1 to 10, with level 1 be-

ing the kind of thought that causes you to feel distress and level 10 being the kind of thought that, if you believed it, would make you feel serene.

For example, if looking at your to-do list makes you feel overwhelmed, the thought behind the feeling might be “I’ll never get this done,” which leads you to feel distressed. The thought “I’ll never get this done” would go on the scale under level 1. A serene, level 10 thought might be “Everything will be accomplished easily and quickly.”

I can almost hear your protest: “If only it were as simple as telling myself to think the level 10 thought and to feel better!” True, it’s not that simple.

Looking on the bright side does not immediately change your reality. It may work in the long term however—especially if you believe it! Luckily, you don’t have to go from your level 1 to level 10 thought to feel better right away, here and now. You only have to train your brain to shift or lean in that positive direction. By moving away from the problematic thought and toward one that

is more positive, you will actually change your neural pathways.

1

10

Take this in incremental steps. When you find yourself thinking in

the reactionary negative perspective, consider leaning one or two steps

(Continued )

60 From Scattered to Centered

toward a more positive outlook. You want to think of the level 10 thought

to know what thought you want to move towards. However, you only need

to think a thought one or two levels above the one you think now to feel

somewhat better. A slight shift in thought is more likely to be believable, and therefore more effective in changing your mood.

*Take Action*

Identify a thought that causes you to feel negatively. This could be one of the cognitive distortions you identified above.

Problem thought:

Assign a number between 1 (causing distress) and 10 (leading to serenity)

to the thought: _________

Identify a possible level 10 thought related to the situation:

Transform your problem thought to one that is closer to the level 10

thought. The new thought doesn’t need to be a 10, it just needs to be be-

lievable to make you feel somewhat better.

Emotional Reactivity 61

Whenever you find yourself tempted toward a negative thought through-

out the day, train your brain to instead repeat the more positive thought.

You’ll be surprised by the effects!

Thirty Days Completed

Bravo! You’re on the road to better ways of thinking!

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