Stress Management: Thought Stopping

You've heard the old saying, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Modify it and you'll get, 'All stress and no relaxation makes Jack a dead guy.' Yes it's true that stress can sometimes lead to life-threatening consequences. But the brutal truth is that in today's competitive world, stress has become unavoidable.


Talking about stress always reminds me of my friend Sona. She has a tendency to get worried and anxious about every little thing. Once that happens, her mind works overtime thinking of every possible disaster that could happen. Her thoughts range from "I have to complete this work today ... or else my boss will get mad at me ... and if I loose my job it will be awful ... I wonder if my marriage would survive tough times. Times are bad ... & so on."


A recent international survey on worry showed that 40 per cent of the time we worry about things which never happen; 30 per cent about things that are over; 12 per cent are needless health worries & 10 per cent are miscellaneous worries. Only a marginal eight per cent of our worries are legitimate. However, if you are caught in the vortex of worry, there is hope. Start practicing thought stopping, part of a technique of behavioral therapy that is helpful in dealing with the problem of continuous and upsetting thoughts.

It can be practiced by doing any of the following: Say STOP aloud to yourself, wear a rubber band around your wrist pull it hard and leave it, pinch yourself unobtrusively or dig your fingernails into the palms of your hand.

Thought Stopping
This technique requires time, patience and constant practice. Thoughts don't go away easily. So as soon as you encounter a difficult thought, interrupt it constantly as this will lead to a gradual decrease in their frequency & eventually they will go away. Initially, select thoughts that are not too stressful graduate on to the more stressful ones and slowly you will master the technique. Besides thought stopping, you can practice the following steps to control your negative thoughts:

1. Imagine the forthcoming event: From your past experience you can figure out how a particular event or the person concerned affected you and in what way.
2. Specify goal: Define the problem and work out all the details. Prepare in advance how to handle criticism without getting upset.
3. Rehearse before the event: If you rehearse thoroughly you can make sure to give a faultless performance.
4. Give yourself a break with pleasurable activities: While preparing for a stressful activity take a break. Go for a walk, listen to music etc.
5. Prepare for the worst: Think of the worst that can happen and ways of coping with it.
6. Relax before the event: Just before the event relax, take a slow deep breath, unclench your jaws and fists, relax your shoulders, uncross your legs and allow your entire body to relax.
7. Expect some stress: A small amount of stress enhances performance.
8. Take time to recover: When the stressful event is over; relax completely.


Once you manage to control your negative thoughts, your life will be stress-free.