Step One to Healthier Thinking: Captivate Thoughts

You captivate your thoughts by intentionally being aware of what you are thinking. Once you are aware of your thought(s) write them down. Writing your thoughts down will help you master this exercise, as well as help you with step two (evaluating thoughts). For example, my son is late for curfew and I am thinking, “What if he has been in a bad car accident?” For step one, I will stop and “take hold” of this thought (captivate it) and write it down. If you have more than one thought, write them all down.

For some, it is easier to acknowledge the feeling first and then ask, “What was I thinking right before I started feeling anxious. This technique works with any feeling, not just anxiety. Once you determine what your were thinking just before you felt anxious, write down your thoughts. Whichever way you do it, write your feeling(s) down as well. It can also help to write the event that occurred which created the thoughts. It is important to know that an event can be your thoughts. It doesn't have to be an actual physical event. For instance, when I lay in bed at night thinking about the what ifs for tomorrow, no event happened to create these thoughts. The thoughts just popped into my head. Can anyone relate? In the example above, the event was my son being late for curfew.

Event: ___________________________________________________________

Thoughts: ________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Feelings: ________________________________________________________

Take a few minutes and practice step one. In order to change the way you think, you must practice taking your thoughts captive.