Mind Tricks pt. 1

Direct Impact with Andrea Epting

Licensed Professional Counselor, Masters Addiction Counselor, and Certified Sex Therapist

Season 2 Episode 25

9/11: Mind Tricks pt1

Episode Summary

When feeling disregulated, we may find ourselves considering old unwanted behaviors. Let’s talk about the mind tricks we can play on ourselves to stop our following through. Join us next week for part two, and five more mind tricks we can utilize.

Episode Highlights:

Let's talk about the skills (mind tricks) we can use when we become disregulated.
1. Sometimes we know we are going into a challenging/ triggering situation
2. Sometimes triggers can come out of nowhere - confronted with, usually external
3. Sometimes internal - cravings, thoughts, emotions
The Tricks
1. Low expectations - Being mindful of expectations of self/ others and limiting beliefs
  1. Are they grounded in reality?
  2. Is there room for air?
  3. Can I be present and just respond one minute at a time?
2. Poising the fantasy - Stopping the inevitable romanticizing of unwanted behaviors
  1. Using reminders of why we stopped that unwanted behavior and are saying no now
    1. Let them be reminders you may be embarrassed of, ones that may be hard to face - poison that fantasy
      1. E.g., letters, texts, pictures
3. Play the tape all the way through to the end - “If I follow through with this old behavior, the end result will be negative”; go step by step
  1. What are the consequences - shame, regret, injuries, relationship damage,
  2. Get back into your window of tolerance, re-ground decisions
4. Reverse engineering - Reverse engineer the HALT (cravings/ urges)
  1. Step one: Recognize Internal cravings when we are hungry, angry, lonely, tired, stressed, sick, or bored
    1. Contributing to feeling disregulated and dis-eased
  2. Step two: Do something instead. Talk to your partner, take care of the need in a healthy way.
5. Distraction - Distract yourself until after the craving subsides, then revisit it
  1. Cravings usually only last about 15 - 20 minutes at a time.
  2. Music, walking, doing something that takes us away from the unwanted behavior