A pattern interrupt is something that you do that can stop negative thoughts in their tracks.
Pattern interrupts can also help you make new habits and shift your automatic reactions to situations to help you react to stress in a way that makes you feel more in control of your reactions and help stop overthinking. Read more to gain control of your thoughts.
Here are some pattern interrupts that can be used when you feel overwhelmed:
• Go to the bathroom, at home or work
• Inhale to the count of 8 and exhale to the count of 8, 3 times or any similar breathing exercise.
• Refer to your list of what makes you happy or calms you down.
• Use headphones in the stall, read a book for just 2 or 3 minutes.
• Fidget with a stress ball.
• Read an article. Take your mind off of spiraling thoughts, reduce overthinking, and take a break from stress by spending a few minutes reading.
• Go on Pinterest to look at photos of trees or nature which have been proven by studies to calm us down. Just looking at pictures of trees helps calm your nervous system.
• Read a few pages in a book.
• Distract yourself from the emotion, not to avoid the emotion, but to calm down and handle your day. We will discuss how to process the emotion and deal with it in the evening when you are alone.
Try to move out of the spiraling thoughts or overwhelming emotion first in order to get some distance from it.
The goal here is to calm your body. It is not avoiding emotions.
Later is usually better for analyzing the cause of the overwhelm or negative thought spiral. Wait for when you have some distance from the emotion.
The pattern interrupt is there to distract you and stop the negative thought spirals.
More Pattern Interrupts:
• Smelling something
• Name 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 things you feel, and 2 things you smell to bring your pre-frontal cortex back on board. That is the part of your brain that can problem solve. This can help shift off the lymbic system which is the part of the brain that can make you feel anxious and controls “fight or flight” reactions.
• Listening to music, or cold exposure like an ice cube or cold water.
• Washing your hands with warm water has been proven in studies to relax the nervous system.
• Stretch or walk for a few minutes.
• Change rooms or environments.
• Journal
• Stand in “superhero” pose for 2-10 minutes which has been proven in studies to reduce cortisol and raise testosterone.
• Force smile for 2 to 10 minutes.
• In studies, smiling has been shown to improve mood, even if it is fake. It sends signals to your body that everything is okay.
• Stand on 1 foot for 30 seconds.
• Count backwards from 100 subtracting 7 each time.
The goal is to reset your nervous system and regain control of your brain’s prefrontal cortex. These activities can shut off the part of the brain that lead to excessive thought spirals and help your mind be more focused again and ready to problem solve.
Thinking negatively for a long period of time can lead to chronic moods, increase depression or anxiety, and loss of joy.
You can release the thought by writing down 1 or 2 sentences and review those thoughts later in the day when you have some time to yourself.
Track your thoughts for a week.
When you reread your thoughts, notice any recurring thoughts and patterns and try to find the cause of any negative thought or mood. Think of all of the pressure you have in your life or pressure you put on yourself.
Another type of pattern interrupt is…Shifting your thoughts:
Try to find a slightly better thought that you can write down next to the negative thoughts and use this list you made during the previous week to pick 1 thought to practice replacing for a week.
Write down this new thought.
Keep improving only this 1 thought in order to make a permanent change and bring it to arwareness.
Find “the next best feeling thought” that is slightly better than, “I am stuck in this dead-end job” or “My child is always making me late.”
For example, it could be:
“I am going to find something to make me feel better today at work.”
“I am going to give my child a few rules about the morning with rewards to see if I can get them more independent and ready on time.”
These are just generic examples.
Maybe you would feel better at work if you are looking for more jobs during 5 minutes a day.
It may make you feel more empowered to see if there are others opportunities out there.
The goal is to find thoughts that give you courage or power to change the situation and not feel stuck.
You will begin to feel more in control of your life after practicing pattern interrupts and replacing negative thoughts with a slightly better thought.
Stopping thought spirals will help you to be more centered and able to take new steps towards change.