Have you been feeling stressed, anxious, tense, or gloomy, and not sure why? Sometimes when we have negative thoughts we try to avoid thinking about them. When we do that, the result can be that we are no longer aware of the negative thought, but we are still left with the negative feelings.
Suppressing what makes us sad, stressed, or hurt from our consciousness can be counterproductive. If we allowed the thoughts to sit with us so that we can look at them differently, face them, or challenge them, we are likely able to feel less consumed by the intensity of the feeling the thought brings.
So what do we do when we cannot help it and automatically suppress thoughts that are stressful or triggering? There are several ways to bring our awareness back to those original thoughts, and one particular exercise to help with that is by doing a body scan.
A body scan can be done by bringing focus to each part of your body and sensing where you feel any tightness or pain. Once you reach that part of your body where you sense these feelings, you can focus on the pain and tap into where that pain is coming from and why. With practice, you will realize that you are able to once again become conscious of the original triggering thought.
Once you reconnect with the thoughts, you have fought more than half the battle. The next step is to then find ways to challenge and/or process any thoughts that need this. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and talk therapy provide many tools on how to challenge/process those thoughts effectively. Something as simple as breaking it down with a friend and seeing a different perspective on the thought can also be very effective.
