When Darkness Creeps In How to Untangle from Negative Thoughts and Find...

When you’re in a low place (like the past two days), cognitive fusion can make the experience much worse:

• You may think: “I’m lazy, I’m going backwards, I’m spiritually lost.”

• And because you’re fused, you believe those thoughts and start feeling like they define you.

But if you defuse, you can say:

“I’m noticing the thought that I’m lost. That’s interesting. I wonder what I need right now?”

That small space between you and your thoughts creates room for healing, compassion, and choice.

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Quick Practice for Defusion:

Try this with any negative or sticky thought:

1. Take a breath and say,

   “I’m noticing I’m having the thought that ___.”

2. Then add,

   “Is this thought helpful right now?”

This moves you out of fusion and into mindful awareness.