to rate and write about why the person was attractive . After this , they were asked to write a short essay about feeling sexual desire for their partner while suppressing thoughts of the attractive person in the picture . As predicted , they reported an increase of thoughts about the attractive other .
Interestingly , those who wrote a short essay about feeling love for their romantic partner had fewer thoughts about the attractive person in the picture after suppression . So maybe love buffers the effects of thought suppression .
Whatever you do , do nothing Despite the ineffectiveness of suppressing thoughts , most people still use it when trying to quit a bad habit , or , at least , gain control of it . So what is the alternative ? Well , the simple answer is not to use it .
Accept that suppressing thoughts is counterproductive . It not only leads to more thoughts about the forbidden thing , it also makes you crave it all the more , and can lead to negative moods .
The second thing to do with negative thoughts of this nature is to not get rid of the thought , but change your response to it . Metacognitive therapy , developed by
Adrian Wells at the University of Manchester , employs some specific therapeutic techniques to achieve this . One such technique is called “ detached mindfulness ”. It involves having awareness of thoughts , without responding to them with more thinking , attempting to control or suppress them , or acting on them . In essence , by leaving a thought alone it is more likely to disappear quickly than if you try to block it out .
So giving up trying to block out thoughts of chocolate , cigarettes , alcohol and sex , may help us to manage and reduce these behaviours . You never know , it may also bring about a reduction in Donald Trump related thoughts .
Robin is a qualified Counsellor and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist . He has spent the past ten years practising , teaching and researching psychological therapies , in a variety of settings . Robin is currently a Senior Lecturer in Psychology where he specialises in teaching evidence based approaches in particular Metacognitive Therapy .
Senior Lecturer in Psychology ,
Liverpool John Moores University
University of Manchester , PhD