Intrusive Thoughts and Overthinking: The Skill of Cognitive Defusion 20/30
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Do you ever find yourself overthinking a situation or battling intrusive thoughts? This video will teach you the skill of cognitive defusion, which will help you separate yourself from your thoughts so that you can look at them rather than through them.
Intrusive thoughts can be scary, dark or painful. They can make you worry that you're losing your mind. they are associated with OCD but they can also just pop up out of nowhere. But Intrusive thoughts don't have to ruin your life.
Overthinking is another problem that many people face, constantly dwelling on thoughts or rehashing them over and over.
We swim through our thoughts like a fish swims through water. We don’t even notice that the way we think colors our view of the world.
Or sometimes we do notice thoughts that we don’t like, and then we don’t know what to do with them. Sometimes you fight them or struggle against them, but that doesn’t feel any better.
So sometimes you get stuck in an endless loop of overthinking, obsessively struggling against a thought. But that’s not any better, because struggle steals your attention and energy.
In this video you’re going to learn how to get unstuck from your intrusive thoughts and break free from patterns of overthinking. You’re going to learn how to look at your thoughts instead of through them.
This skill is called cognitive defusion.
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Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC, and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe
If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
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- 🔁 Enable looping for continuous relaxation
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💬 What Listeners Say
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"Always remind myself: "This is a thought, it's just a thought. I don't have to believe it. I don't have to act on it, I don't have to fight it. I can let it pass through.""
— @gine_bv 👍 14,927
"I took a deep breath and started to tear up because the fact I had to look up videos to help me with my overthinking and industrial thoughts is crazy to me. I got emotional because I’ve always been a happy person and now I’ve just been stuck in my he..."
— @daily328i 👍 7,195
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To fully enjoy "Intrusive Thoughts and Overthinking: The Skill of Cognitive Defusion 20/30", we recommend the following approach:
- Set the Scene: Find a comfortable position, dim the lights if possible, and minimize distractions.
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- Try the Mixer: Use our Ambient Sound Mixer below to customize the audio with additional sound layers.
This 20:04 track is ideal for relaxation, focus, sleep. With 6.6M views, it has become a trusted choice for thousands of listeners worldwide.