This topic if from a workbook I am sharing from called, “Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life.” By Dr. Steven C. Hayes.
He shares how humans have the ability to relate to our environments, thoughts, feelings and behavior predispositions. We experience what he calls relational frames. Those frames include:
- Frame of Coordination-similar, same as or like.
- Terminal and Casual-before and after, if/then, cause of, etc.
- Comparative and Evaluative-who family of relations including better than, faster than etc.
- Deictic- from the perspective of the speaker “I/you” or “here/there.”
Exercises that were in the book: include:
- You have a screw, a toothbrush and a lighter. Now think of ways you can use these to loosen a screw that is in a board. Then list them.
- Your given steps to follow to help guide you in the thought process of coming up with a solution. You answer that you feel will work then go to the next process. Hopefully, when applying this you get the results needed.
- Don’t think about your thoughts. First you just write thoughts that lead to your suffering. Nest try isolating a single thought that to that current suffering. Then deconstruct your thoughts until you are able tomorrow the thought to a single sentence or simple phrase.
If you’re like me these exercises can help you to stop living with the past and future thoughts. Allowing you to live in the here and now. We can be actively tormenting ourselves otherwise. He shows you what is true for your thoughts can be applied to your emotions.
Learn how actions taken can help or suppress thoughts and emotions. Learn also to come up with a strategy that can be apply coping strategies.
