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Ok. This will be long, but i think it will be worth it.
This may be why it is so difficult to stop thinking about dp/dr (focusing outward.) For example, if I told you not to think about pink elephants you will probably have pink elephants on your mind while you are reading this. Suppressed information produces hyperaccessibility of the thought. This means that the desire to suppress the thought does the exact opposite, it brings it to the forefront of our thoughts!! So why does thought suppression lead to hyperaccessibility? Ok, well think of a person that wants to keep his romantic relationship with a co-worker secret. So, they try to distract themselves from the thoughts so he won't think about them while he is working. (thought suppression). [/b] For example, he may think about a project he has due next week. But then he starts to think about how this project will take time away from his relationship with his partner.[/b] Therefore, he is brought back to the same thought that he is trying to suppress!!! The same goes for dp. You try to think about something else, but you think the dp will get in the way, and therefore you continue to think about dp. This cycle occurs because of two cognitive processes. First, the controlled distracter search is when you try to distract yourself from the thought you are trying to suppress, your mind is trying to find things to distract you, but at the same time your mind is going into protective mode, unconciously scanning your thoughts for any sign of the unwanted thought. The second is called the automatic target search. The unconscious search to zap the unwanted thought out of your mind actually makes your mind try to find it, and the thought intrudes into the distracter search, making you think of it.
Soo, how can we learn from this??? Dp is a way of dissociating from things that we want to forget.. for example, trauma, things you dont like about yourself,things with your work, or family. There are thoughts that you dont consciously know about, but that are causing you to remain this way. It is necessary to bring those thought into your consciousness. (I think janine talks about this in her book.) [You need an outlet, maybe here, maybe in a journal. But you need to write down how you really feel, and not think about the dp as being the major problem, because its not. The dp is there because of other problems we have, and the dp is something that takes away those problems!! However, it does so in a horrific way!!
I hope everyone reads this, because I think it may help.
Take Care,
Shane
This may be why it is so difficult to stop thinking about dp/dr (focusing outward.) For example, if I told you not to think about pink elephants you will probably have pink elephants on your mind while you are reading this. Suppressed information produces hyperaccessibility of the thought. This means that the desire to suppress the thought does the exact opposite, it brings it to the forefront of our thoughts!! So why does thought suppression lead to hyperaccessibility? Ok, well think of a person that wants to keep his romantic relationship with a co-worker secret. So, they try to distract themselves from the thoughts so he won't think about them while he is working. (thought suppression). [/b] For example, he may think about a project he has due next week. But then he starts to think about how this project will take time away from his relationship with his partner.[/b] Therefore, he is brought back to the same thought that he is trying to suppress!!! The same goes for dp. You try to think about something else, but you think the dp will get in the way, and therefore you continue to think about dp. This cycle occurs because of two cognitive processes. First, the controlled distracter search is when you try to distract yourself from the thought you are trying to suppress, your mind is trying to find things to distract you, but at the same time your mind is going into protective mode, unconciously scanning your thoughts for any sign of the unwanted thought. The second is called the automatic target search. The unconscious search to zap the unwanted thought out of your mind actually makes your mind try to find it, and the thought intrudes into the distracter search, making you think of it.
Soo, how can we learn from this??? Dp is a way of dissociating from things that we want to forget.. for example, trauma, things you dont like about yourself,things with your work, or family. There are thoughts that you dont consciously know about, but that are causing you to remain this way. It is necessary to bring those thought into your consciousness. (I think janine talks about this in her book.) [You need an outlet, maybe here, maybe in a journal. But you need to write down how you really feel, and not think about the dp as being the major problem, because its not. The dp is there because of other problems we have, and the dp is something that takes away those problems!! However, it does so in a horrific way!!
I hope everyone reads this, because I think it may help.
Take Care,
Shane
