Posted by Kath on January 8, 2009, at 15:45:20
I just cut & pasted this from a different thread above. Just in case it might be of use to anyone:
My therapist returned my call today & suggested
that since my mind is used to worrying & obsessing, I could try a method that sometimes helps people. She said that sometimes the brain gets a certain 'boost' from crisis. She says that if we do things differently - like wear our watch upside down & pick up things with our left hand (if we're right-handed) & go out & come in through the door we usually don't & sit in a different chair from what we usually do, or sliding horizontally out of bed instead of sitting up, etc - our brain can get a similar kind of 'boost' from the attention that we have to pay to doing these things differently.She says that our brain can interpret the 'boost' from worrying as 'pleasure' & can sort of 'look for it'. It's almost like an addiction - & that we can provide our brain with that 'boost' in other ways. So I'm going to do that. I'm already doing it, sitting differently at the computer. Was typing with different fingers, but it was taking too long! LOL
.... ..... ..... .....So I have been doing that - yesterday after talking with her & today. Even in the night when I got up to pee, I walked on tiptoe holding my arms out in front of me & waving my hands!
Today I've been trying to do various things differently. Especially if I find myself starting to drift towards worry about my son, I will find something to do differently from how I normally do it....it seems to have to be something that requires some concentration. I will also, in my mind, at those times, "just me, just me" - I want to NOT be so obssessed with him, so saying this little 'mantra' at the same time as the new exercise seems to be helping somewhat! At times when I couldn't do something like walk weird or whatever, I would breathe differently - like 4 quick breaths in & 5 out, then 5 in & 4 out. You know - I actually could feel it helping me right AS I was doing it!!! One thing I did was hold my hands differently on the steering wheel. I've been using the mouse with my left hand. Stuff like that.
I'd be interested to know if anyone has heard of anything like this; also if anyone tries it, how they find it!
My T said it sort of gets one into the 'now' instead of worrying. Maybe it's a way of forcing oneself into a state of 'mindfulness'.
Kath
poster:Kath
thread:872792
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20081219/msgs/872792.html