Thought Stopping, Does This Actually Work For Anyone?

[katz]

"Stop/don't" is not a tool for everyone. For me it's like a heroin addict, for example. If addic...

I have a terrible time being told to just "stop". It doesn't matter who tells me. I feel it is an order to me. So, I get very angry. I am constantly telling people to "stop telling me how "I" feel".

I have also learned to always say "I" before my statements. That way I am only speaking for myself, not anyone else. I wish everyone knew that you can only speak for yourself, especially when describing what your feelings are at the moment.

 

[I_will_recover]

@katz
As a child I used to float up to the ceiling off to the corner or above where I was in a dissociative state. To the best of my knowledge I've only dissociated as an adult once due to extreme stress but I was safe and able to speak with my T during the episode. It's not okay that you experienced your trauma but it is a comfort to me to hear circumstances similar to mine.
Hugs if you can except them or a smile and a wave :hug: / :shy::stop:

 

[Freedomfighter]

I love my CBT therapist, I really do. From me, that is saying a lot. I had some really horrible expe...

Yeah, I always try to use different methods to calm my brain like that too. Stop is a word that is not recognized by criminals, it is a word that will incite only more rage by a criminal.
I find that meditation is often more helpful.

 

[katz]

@katz
As a child I used to float up to the ceiling off to the corner or abo...

I don't know if it could be classified as "re-experience my trauma". I just have a nervous feeling I get, like a premonition of something coming. I used to get them often, especially growing up. The adults thought that they were petite mal seizures. So, I have been on multiple drugs all my life.

They vanished overnight when I witnessed the doctor at the hospital telling my parents that I had PTSD. The doctor also weaned me off all the extra medicines that I was told I "needed". I have never "zoned out" since then. I only get the "feelings" of a memory, not the specific memory of the event happening.

I don't know what will happen-if anything-when "he" dies.

I know what happened, specifically, with all of my Demons. I just don't have the memory of being in the 1st person. All the "pictures" are from the 3rd person. That may be all I ever get....good or bad? I'm not sure.

 

[J'qel]

My prior T asked me to actually pause and take a moment to consider the thought, and examine it. This works for me because I love learning things, I tend to overanalyze if anything else, so asking me to analyze more worked like a charm.

That being said, it helps me externally in relating with people, but I'm not sure how much it helps me, except in the extreme cases.

 

[ladee]

I know thought stopping helps in external ways as I am not acting out what is going in my head..I.e. Face pounding and filthy name calling...:laugh:

 

[I_will_recover]

I just don't have the memory of being in the 1st person. All the "pictures" are from the 3rd person. That may be all I ever get....

This is the same for me. I take it as a good considering the alternative.

 

[whiteraven]

I had one therapist who tried to get me to use this technique to help me with ruminative thoughts I was having. Didn't work for me. The only thing that has worked for me is mindfulness, which involves *noticing* your thoughts and letting them go, as opposed to "grabbing hold of them" and adding to them. One technique is to try to view your thoughts as clouds floating by or as water droplets in a waterfall. It takes some practice, but this has been very helpful to me.