Twisted Thoughts

A single thought passes through your mind as you stare blankly at this confusing page. Then another. Then another. I don't know what you are thinking, but you are thinking. Each and every one of us thinks, whether it is through a normal or abnormal process depends on the person and situation. The problem comes when our thoughts become confusing or not comprehensive. Have you ever been in a situation where your thoughts become muddled and your heart races? A friend or family member is physically in trouble, or perhaps you simply have thoughts of that friend or family member being in trouble? We all have dreams like this. We all have real-life situations like this. The real question is: How do you think calmly and clearly in these kinds of difficult situations?

A couple of different options are available. We must become aware of our thoughts. Breathe. Close your eyes and just breathe. Then carefully sort through your thoughts and become precisely aware of what they all are. How do you feel? What are your worries? Why are you worrying? The trick is to identify each strand of thought, like picking out different colored threads from a clump of them. What is the thought and what made you think it. Become aware of what it is you are thinking.

Another option to untangle our thoughts is to--once we have picked out the different strands and have become aware--assess the untruthful thoughts. Ask yourself, is this worry plausible? Is it true? And if it is not true, replace it. Replace it with something true. Now there is something to look out for during this process. Our untruthful thoughts are often unpleasant or negative, which means that often when replacing these untrue thoughts, we tend to replace the thought with something more positive. The positiveness is okay; however, we need to be careful not to replace the negative, false thought with a positive, false thought. That is counter-productive. Make sure the replacement thought is true first, then worry about whether or not it is positive. 

These are the different ways untwist your foggy, confusing thoughts in difficult situations. But one thing to remember: DO NOT "cope" ineffectively. This is often our first instinct, but it is wrong. Some ineffective coping mechanisms to look out for: drugs--specifically, marijuana and alcoholic drinking. These are the world's way of coping, but it is not the right way. Instead, use the steps above to conquer your fears and untwist your unyielding thoughts. You can do it. I believe in you!

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