Things That Are on Your Mind

[TheGreatCthulhu]

I even made a complicated chart about it.

View attachment 71132

A perfect flow chart.

In fact, another sci-fi trope that's been outdated for a while now is the food pill. Turns out, food in general contains a lot of macro and micro nutrients, and even if a pill could provide everything we need, people just enjoy food so much, so they likely would prefer real food anyways.

Plus, some foods are just magical. Like cheese. I love cheese.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Lately I can't tell if my own thoughts and emotions are genuine or fabricated idk what to make of it

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Lately I can't tell if my own thoughts and emotions are genuine or fabricated idk what to make of it

One thing that cognitive behavioral therapy teaches, and mindfulness tells you is that you are not your thoughts. Your thoughts are mere objects created by your mind.

The proof in that is that we don't always act on our thoughts, and our mind generates hundreds of thousands of them per day. Another proof is that thoughts change with age and environment.

Emotions though, are much more complicated, but they essentially are reactions and are subjective, and they change based on situation.

Emotions are thus as the band Boston says, more than a feeling. They are a complex blend of actions, expressions, and internal changes to the body that occur in response to the meaning we make of our environment. Thoughts are creations of the mind, and emotions are reactions to what we experience, basically.

The important thing though is that you aren't your thoughts. You also aren't your emotions. What you really are is much more complicated.

I dunno if that helps you, but hopefully that might provide some insight.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Your thoughts are mere objects created by your mind.

Consciously, or subconsciously?

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Consciously, or subconsciously?

It can be both. If some thoughts come out of the blue, and are upsetting and involuntary, those are called intrusive thoughts, and those can be managed by practicing mindful awareness which you learn in CBT.

 

[Chevywolf30]

It can be both. If some thoughts come out of the blue, and are upsetting and involuntary, those are called intrusive thoughts, and those can be managed by practicing mindful awareness which you learn in CBT.

What's CBT?

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

It can be both

I can't distinguish the two

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

What's CBT?

Cognitive behavioral therapy.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

What's CBT?

Cognitive behavioral therapy

 

[GrooseIsLoose]

you are not your thoughts

Unbelievable . I've always thought otherwise.
Proverbs such as "Ennam pol vazhkai" (Your thoughts dictate your life) and philosophers have been saying the opposite for centuries. I'm surprised. Is there a paper on this topic?

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

I can't distinguish the two

Definitely I'd talk to someone for sure. I can only speak to my experience, and what I've learned, which may or may not work for you. CBT has been shown in evidence to be extremely successful in managing anxiety and depression without the use of medication. Some mental illnesses definitely need more powerful means, but anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts and such are all completely manageable.

 

[GrooseIsLoose]

What's CBT?

[Removed]

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Definitely I'd talk to someone for sure

I'm talking to Zeldadungeon forums
It's free therapy

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Unbelievable . I've always thought otherwise.
Proverbs such as "Ennam pol vazhkai" (Your thoughts dictate your life) and philosophers have been saying the opposite for centuries. I'm surprised. Is there a paper on this topic?

It's what findings in psychology and psychiatrists have found.

There's like, thousands of papers in psychology, but a simple example is one can have an intrusive thought to harm someone, and not act on it. Thus, clearly, if thoughts define the person, instead of everything else that they are, and all of that complex minutia, then clearly your thoughts don't define who you are.

Edit: Also another finding is that the brain generates thousands of thoughts per day, and you cannot possibly act on all of them. Really, asking who we are is more of a philosophical question than a psychological one.

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

I'm talking to Zeldadungeon forums
It's free therapy

If I can give you a taste of mindfulness, and a simple demonstration, first close your eyes, and take on all the sounds around you for about 30 seconds.

Notice the difference between the sounds you're hearing and you, the one doing the listening? There's you and there's what you've heard, two separate things.

Next, use your eyes and take in all of the visual stuff around you, the colors, the textures, what's in your immediate visual field, and so on. Do this for about 30 seconds.

Notice the difference between what you're seeing and you, the one observing? There's you, and there's what you saw, two separate things.

Next draw attention to whatever you're touching, the sensations your body feels, the touch, the pressure, your feet, and so on.

Notice the difference between what you're feeling, and you, the one feeling these sensations? There's you, and what you've felt, two separate things.

Now, here's where things get crazy. For 30 seconds, close your eyes and just observe what shows up in your mind. If it helps imagine you're like that character Fear in Inside Out watching a theater in your mind. If you notice yourself getting pulled into those thoughts, imagine yourself stepping back and just watching.

Notice the difference in what you thought, and you, the one who saw them? There's you, and there's your thoughts, two separate things.

This is what mindfulness is all about, and it's recognizing that your brain is gonna come up with wild stuff. It's important to not act on them, acknowledge that they will happen, recognize them, acknowledge them, and just let them pass, like writing a thought down on a strip of paper and tossing it into a fire.

My therapist described stuck thoughts and obsessions like your mind when it generates thoughts is like a machine, and a thought can get stuck in a machine, and mindfulness can help getting it unstuck.