What are intrusive thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are involuntary and unpleasant thoughts, images, or ideas that pop into our mind.
They are a common symptom in those with anxiety, depression, OCD, and PTSD; however, the truth is most people experience intrusive thoughts from time to time.
Robert Frost
In mindfulness-based psychotherapy there’s a technique called “urge surfing” that’s used to help individuals overcome addictive and impulsive behaviors.
In Buddhist philosophy there are two central teachings to the origin of suffering. One is impermanence, the idea that everything is in a constant state of flux. The second is clinging; when we cling to conditions in a changing world, we bind ourselves to suffering.
Clinging to both “bad experiences” and “good experiences” can be a source of suffering. Because when we cling to negative feelings, we prolong their power over our thoughts and actions. Instead of letting them take their course and then letting go, we hold onto these feelings and even begin to identify with them. And when we cling to positive feelings, we also attach to them as our only source of happiness, but we simultaneously set ourselves up for suffering once those positive feelings inevitably go away.
If everything is constantly changing, then the key to living a healthy life must be embracing this change as it unfolds, rather than attaching our happiness to a certain set of conditions. When we learn how to ride out these ebbs and flow of life, we paradoxically find contentment in the present moment (because we learn to embrace whatever is as it is).
Full acceptance of the present moment also includes an acceptance of its transient nature. And full acceptance of yourself also includes an acceptance that you too are always changing. From moment-to-moment, it often feels as though we are a static entity. But when you view yourself 10-20 years in the past, or what you will be 10-20 years in the future, you’ll often find that you can change drastically from one phase of your life to the next.
I find these ideas very conducive to personal development and mental health. Actually, the whole notion that “thing’s change” has helped me overcome countless internal battles over the past few years.
But it takes practice. Mainly, daily mindfulness, and actual eye-witness of this change as it takes place in the present moment. Conceptions of our “static self” can only be de-mystified by daily meditation into the nature of our changing selves. Change is not just an esoteric concept, but an observable, empirical truth that can be discovered by anyone who watches their daily experiences on a consistent basis. One of the my favorite meditations in de-mystifying this fixed self is objectless meditation. It is a pure mindfulness practice where the observer doesn’t try to concentrate on any one object, but instead allows their awareness to expand to the full range of their experience. During such a meditation your object of focus will shift between different sensations in your body, as well as different thoughts, emotions, memories, and imaginations. A person who has developed a strong sense of mindfulness will learn how to better engage in this process of change without clinging to any singular aspect of their experience.
And the ultimate goal of your meditation is to take this awareness into your daily activities. That means embracing change in all aspects of your life: your health, your relationships, your career, your personal habits, etc. All aspects of your being are in a dynamic state of flux. And keeping this simple truth in the back of your mind at all times can do wonders.
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A stream-of-conscious contemplation into the nature of equanimity and emotional balance.
There was a recent study published in Healthy Psychology where researchers at UCLA used text messaging as a way to monitor real-time health behaviors such as smoking cigarettes. Participants were sent 8 text messages a day and were expected to report back on their ongoing cravings, mood, and cigarette use.
I found this application of technology really exciting because it is very similar to what I’ve been working on for my mindfulness coaching, which entails using Twitter or text messages to help monitor thoughts, emotions, and actions in the present moment. This technique can be great for overcoming bad habits because it helps us:
- Identify times of the day when we experience the strongest cravings.
- Identify the environments we are in where we experience the strongest cravings.
- Identify and acknowledge the sensations, thoughts, and feelings that contribute to our cravings.
A random tweet or text message can initiate a short buffer that helps breakdown and weaken impulsive decision-making. It reminds us throughout the day to reflect on our desires, instead of acting on them automatically and without conscious thought. Mindfulness gives us the power to put a halt to habits that have become second-nature, to become more patient with ourselves, and therefore exercise a greater sense of will-power and choice.
Urge surfing
In mindfulness-based psychotherapy there’s a technique called “urge surfing.” The assumption behind the technique is that an urge never lasts forever. Usually, no more than 30 minutes. Clients can therefore “ride out” these urges simply by being more aware of their transient nature.
While reflecting on an urge to smoke a cigarette or eat something unhealthy, we should make note of everything that makes up the craving experience, and how it affects our bodies and minds. For example, we can identify the physical sensations that accompany the urge, where these sensations are located in our bodies, as well as other physical qualities. We can also make note of the thoughts and mental images that may amplify our cravings in that moment. It is common (if not universal) that the experience will change over time as we watch it.
Sometimes while watching a feeling it can become more and more intense. This is often compared to the tides of an ocean crashing further and further onto the beach, as the craving builds and builds. However, the important thing to remember while “urge surfing” is that eventually the tide will fluctuate and go back to a lower sea level. Then the urge becomes weaker and inevitably dissipates.
Urges do go away, but they may be very strong for a short while, especially when you are first starting out. Knowing that they will weaken will help you to continue to surf the impulses without giving in.
If you want, you can accommodate your urge surfing with a helpful mantra such as “this too shall pass.”
Back to technology
As mentioned before, technology can serve as a helpful interruption throughout our day to facilitate more conscious living. If we catch ourselves about to act on a desire, we can apply a reflective technique such as “urge surfing” until the urge has passed. By periodically reporting (and self-monitoring) our cravings, I believe we can cultivate a greater awareness of some of the more “automatic” habits we act out throughout our day, actions we often fail to reconsider or give a second thought.
However, if something like urge surfing is inadequate (maybe we simply can’t find the will-power), we can still use mindfulness to become more aware of the “external triggers” that influence our behavior. If we notice we are only compelled to engage in a bad habit around certain people or in certain environments, we can use that new found information to adjust the types of people we hang out with or the environments we engage in. This can sometimes be necessary to correct bad habits that are heavily rooted in our surroundings.
Either way, mindfulness and technology can play an important role in becoming more attentive to these needs, and therefore it should be strongly considered by anyone who is trying to fix detrimental behaviors. The text messaging technique can be a worthy supplement to psychiatric drugs or professional therapy, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, which already integrates mindfulness into some of its practice.
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