Thought Stopping Techniques - Addiction Recovery

Posted by Care Addiction Center on December 22nd, 2021

In order to break the power of thoughts leading to addictive or binge-like behavior, an individual must stop thinking about things that bother them. In cognitive behavioral therapy, thought stopping has been used for 50 years. The use of mental energy in a positive way reduces stress and eliminates emotional cues that compel unhealthy behavior.

How Does Thought Stopping Work?

With thought stopping techniques, an individual can replace a negative thought with a positive one, break a dysfunctional thinking pattern by replacing it with a constructive one, and redirect their minds from unhealthy or negative thoughts.

Thought Stopping Techniques

Step 1: Acknowledge In order to overcome unhealthy thoughts, it is first necessary to become aware of them. Acknowledge them. Rather than ignoring it, there are a few healthy things you can do to acknowledge the urge.

Step 2: Stop & Counteract Say \"STOP\" and do it as soon as possible. When you catch yourself thinking unwanted thoughts, say \"STOP!\" out loud, or if you don\'t want to call attention to yourself, snap a rubber band on your wrist to let yourself know that you\'re doing it. The next step is to replace the unhealthy thought with an empowering one that contradicts it. Consider imagining a special place, think logically about the situation, or do a task that requires concentration and focus. Instead of thinking, \"I need alcohol to get through today,\" the replacement would be, \"I don\'t need alcohol to dull my pain. Sobriety makes life better. Continue doing this and I will achieve my goals.\" Techniques:

• Yelling “STOP”: Immediately yell \"STOP\" when an unwanted thought enters your mind. It can be spoken or silent. Continue to yell “STOP” until the unwanted thought leaves.
• Replacement Visual Image: Replace negative images you visualize with positive, healthy ones.
• Thought Replacement: Choose a healthy, rational thought to replace an unwanted thought.
• Developing a Healthy Thinking Pattern: If you tend to think irrationally, you can develop a rational pattern of thinking by challenging every thought that comes to mind, asking: Is this a rational thought? In that case, what is irrational about it? How could we replace it with something rational?
• Aversive Replacements: Replace acceptable images of unhealthy behaviors with more honest ones, such as junk food can be replaced by the words \'poison,\' \'unhealthy,\' or \'disgusting.\' As a substitute for cigarettes, you can think about \"cancer sticks\" or \"coffin nails\".

Step 3: Repeat As many times as necessary, repeat these thought stopping techniques. The thought may stop after a couple of attempts. It may be necessary to repeat it more than 30 times if you have more ingrained urges that continue to surface throughout the day. Keep your eye on the end goal no matter how many times it takes.

Don’t Let Your Negative Inner Voice Interfere with Thought Stopping

It is important to have confidence in the process before thought stopping can be an effective coping skill. Avoid giving in to these excuses:

• It\'s OK if I just think about it and do nothing.
• What difference does it make if I think about it?
• People will never know if I think on it for a little while.
• I\'ve denied myself so much, why can\'t I just think about it?
• I never thought about this before I acted ,so why should I avoid thinking about it now?
• It is too much of a battle to fight these thoughts. It\'s easier to give in and then start over again in the morning.
• It seems so silly to control my mind from having thoughts about it.
• I don\'t have time to do this.
• I don\'t need this in order to be successful in achieving recovery.

It is possible to become accustomed to thought stopping with practice. Consistently replacing unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones will make the new ones more automatic. During times of stress or relapse into addictive behavior, such as the holidays, thought stopping can be an effective tool.

Need additional help? If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction and want to learn more about treatment or alcohol rehab, feel free to contact us at: 630-402-0144