Friday 2 October 2020

CBT example, IDSRAW

Here are some examples of the CBT IDSRAW tools I developed, as shown in this post.  There are two main approaches:

Approach one: Use all IDSRAW tools in order on one thought. 

Approach two: Use the tools with no direction in mind, just to see where the thinking ends up (my favourite).

Approach one: Use all the IDSRAW tools on one thought.

The thought I choose to work with is the general, negative thought: 

I'll be ill this winter.

Running through each of the IDSRAW (Intuitive, Double letter, Substitute, Reinterpret, Array, and What if I told you...) tools in turn gives:

Intuitive (negative thought about I'll be ill this winter) : I'll be a burden on my family.

Double Letter: (from I'll be ill this winter) L: Lethargic. N: Nuisance.

(Both can be expanded into longer thoughts. Lethargic could be: I'll feel lethargic for a long time. Nuisance could be I will lose a lot of time.)

Switch: (With I'll be ill this winter shortened to ill winter):

Ill winter

Ill family

Ill season.

Ill inevitably

and

Winter hassle

Winter bugs

Winter woe

Reinterpret: (ill winter) made into a question could be:

Will you definitely be ill this winter?

or

What sort of illnesses could you expect this winter?

Array of Positives and Negatives.

The Array chosen is +-+-++

Positive (on I'll be ill this winter): My family can support me.

Negative (on My family can support me): They could get ill too.

Positive (on They could get ill too): They probably would get it later than me; I'll be able to look after them.

Negative (on Looking after them): It might be very stressful if everyone is ill at once. 

Positive (on It will be stressful if everyone gets ill at once): We will come out of it together at the same time and be positive about the future.

Positive (on Being positive about the future): We'll have lots to look forward to.

What if I told you....

The INCH tools of WIITY applied to I'll be ill this winter give:

What if I told you...In fact...You won't be ill if you get a flu jab.

What if I told you...No!...You may all get through winter without any illness.

What if I told you...It could be worse...You could be cold and alone.

What if I told you...How to make yourself 200% ill? 

How to make myself 200% ill? Answer: Drink red wine when I'm ill so I get a migraine too. (Obviously a bad idea but sometimes the 200% thought experiments can lead to good ideas or thoughts to pursue.)

What if I told you...How to make yourself 50% ill?

How would I make myself 50% ill? Answers: Have a flu jab. Be prepared - make sure things like the hot-water bottle are left in a sensible place so I'm not searching for it in the middle of the night while feeling awful. Keep exercising. Have a bottle of water by the bed so I can drink without leaving bed.

****

At the end of this run-through of IDSRAW I've got a lot of thoughts on paper. I may have uncovered other things I'm worried about (such as having a flu jab) and I can use the IDSRAW tools to focus on that in its own right. Or, I can find something relevant to the initial main issue -  I'll be ill this winter - and explore those thoughts. 

Approach two: Use a dice to pick each IDSRAW option and see where the thinking ends up

With approach two I use a dice to pick which of the IDSRAW tools I'll use. The neutral topic (no negativity or positivity (yet)) I'll start with is:

My clothes. 

The dice falls on 1, which is Intuitive:

Intuitive (Negative-ish): I need to go through my clothes and throw out the old ones.

Next the dice falls on 5, which is Positive and Negative Array. The array I create is -++-+

- (Negative thought on I need to go through my clothes): There is so much to do.

+ (Positive thought on There is so much to do): Once I've gone through them it won't need doing again for  a couple of years. 

+ (Positive thought on It'll be done for a couple of years): It'll be a weight off my mind and I'll be free to pursue other things.

- (Negative thought on I'll be free to pursue other things): I'll realise there are a few others nasty jobs that need doing.

+ (Positive thought on There are other nasty jobs): I'll get better at doing nasty jobs and I'll get a sense of achievement.

The dice next falls on 2, which is Double Letter.

I'll pick the sentence I'll be free to pursue other things from above and highlight two letters: I'll be free to pursue other things - the S and the H. The S and H trigger relevant thoughts: 

Study, health

I expand on Study and Health:

Study: I could have more time to study.

and 

Health: I need to focus on my health and fitness more.

Next the dice falls on 6, which is What if I told you?...I'll pick the  I need to focus on my health and fitness more thought from the two thoughts just generated:

(I need to focus on my health and fitness more) What if I told you...in fact...You are already fairly fit because you are active.

Next the dice rolls 1, which is Intuitive:

Intuitive (on being fit already): I'm not as fit as I was before I tore a cartilage. 

Next dice rolls 6, which is What if I told you?...

What if I told you...It could be worse...Your leg could be as bad as it was when the cartilage first tore and then you'd be immobile. 

Then the dice rolls 1, Intuitive:

I could research some new exercises.

Next the dice rolls 6, What if I told you?...

What if I told you...How could you 200% research exercises? 

Maybe: Talk to someone at the gym and see if they have expertise on exercises that won't damage my legs.

The dice next rolls 3, which is Switch. I simplify the sentence Talk to someone at the gym and see if they have expertise on exercises that won't damage my legs into two words: Gym talk, then switch words:

Gym join

Gym cost

Gym endorphins

and

Fitness talk

Physio talk 

Progress talk

The dice then rolls 2, which is Double Letter. From the word pairs above I pick Gym cost. Then I pick G and C from Gym cost. and think of the words:

Group

and

Cool.

Group (Expanding this into a positive idea suggests maybe if I formed a group of people with similar knee problems we could get a discount at a gym).

Cool (Leads to this negative thought about "cooling off": What happens if I sign up for membership but then injure my leg?)

Next the dice shows 2, which is Double Letter again. From  Maybe a group with similar knee problems could get a discount I pick the letters P and L.

I'll lean towards a positive for P: Pals. Expanded into a thought reads: I might meet some new people.

I go  negative for L: List. Expanded to a thought reads: How would I make a list? How would I find people with a similar injury who might be interested in gym membership?)

The dice then rolls 1, Intuitive. I'll go for a positive thought:

Among my local family and friends I might be surprised to find enough people who have injuries and would be interested in gym membership as a group.

The dice next rolls 4, which is Reinterpret. I change the sentence Among my local family and friends I might be surprised to find enough people who have injuries and would be interested in gym membership to the more manageable two words of Friends group. 

Converted to a question could read: Are there already groups of gym members in your area with injuries?

Converted to an order reads: Start work on forming a gym group now.


Monday 14 September 2020

Listing Feelings

This is a procedure for listing feelings. It has 5 steps.

Step 1

First of all I think of any name. Eg: Steve.

I take the first two letters of the name: st.

Step 2

Then I list feelings that start with the letters st.

Note: I kind of mentally use this template to help me think of a feeling:

I might feel X about something.

(Where X is the feeling.)

Example: I might feel stringent about something.

Here are some more st... feelings:

Stuck
Strong
Stumped
Stubborn

Step 3

I want to list a wider range of feelings. To do this I take the last feeling listed at step 2: In the above case, stubborn, and treat it as an adjective and ask "What kind of thing could be described with the adjective stubborn?"

Eg: a mule. Thus:

Stubborn mule

Step 4

Then I ask myself: What kind of feelings are associated with a mule? (Note: This can be how a person could feel about a mule or how a mule might feel.)

Thus:

Grumpy
Four-legged
Hairy
Beastly

Step 5

From that point I can generate more feelings  by either using the first method (I would take the be of beastly and use it list feelings), or I would use the second method and name something that is beastly (Eg: Dracula) and list possible feelings about that.






Sunday 11 August 2013

Some useful acronyms

Here are some useful acronyms I've used on my CBT journey:

BAD DAFT 

Stands for:

BAD: Beliefs (and assumptions), Automatic negative thoughts, Distortions,
DAFT: Downsides and benefits (same as "pros and cons"), Automatic positive thoughts, Feelings, Thoughts.

FAT

Stands for:

Feelings, Actions, Thoughts.

DIDDUMS

Stands for:

Directives, imperatives, do, don't, urgent, must (and mustn't),  should (and shouldn't).