The last dangerous thought pattern is actually a counter-thought. It’s a process called thought suppression, the attempt to push away unwanted thoughts and emotions. The late Daniel Wegener, a social psychologist from Harvard, came across a passage by the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky: “Try this simple experiment: try NOT to think of a polar bear, and the only thing you’ll see in your mind is that damned white bear.”
Wegener, who believed this statement to be true, decided to test it. Through a series of studies and experiments, he discovered a phenomenon he called the “ironic error,” which means that the more we try to push our thoughts away, the faster and stronger they return. This happens because thought suppression is a mentally difficult task. The mind must constantly monitor mental activity to detect forbidden thoughts: Is there a polar bear here? The brain cannot maintain such control for long. It tires. It tries to hide the polar bear under thick ice, but its head resurfaces again, and for good measure, it brings some friends along. The result of suppressing thoughts is that we end up thinking even more about polar bears. The ironic error is one of the reasons why smokers trying to quit constantly think about smoking, and why people on diets trying not to think about food find themselves fantasizing about sweet snacks.
The ironic error increases unnecessary muscle tone. We know that chronic stress shortens muscles, but if we try to resolve our stressful thoughts by submerging bad thoughts into the deepest waters of our subconscious, they usually shoot back. A chronically stressed brain is already overloaded (this is called cognitive load), which makes it even harder to successfully suppress thoughts. Instead of reducing stress, we accumulate more. A classic example of the negative power of thought suppression is seen in people with post-traumatic stress disorder, who – understandably – do not want to recall events that caused them great stress. But their faded memories return in unexpected, aggressive ways or enter their dreams at night. They often blame themselves for allowing intrusive thoughts to return, thinking they weren’t strong enough, and for having an emotional response to them. This state further reduces energy and makes it harder to control thoughts, leading to self-blame, a sense of helplessness, and a loss of confidence. A vicious cycle develops.
If we examine the connections in the system of thought suppression, we arrive at useful insights into how to reduce and eliminate this mental process. The system works as follows: we suppress bad emotions, but due to the polar bear phenomenon, they inevitably return, and then we feel bad; because we feel bad, we feel bad about feeling bad. This additional layer of negative judgment – the part where we feel bad for feeling bad – acts like a circular armor on the system, draining even the last bit of energy left to deal with the problem. This severe lack of energy is the main reason people fall into serious depressive states. In short: thought suppression is a highway to increased chronic stress and depression, both of which negatively impact chronic muscle tone and SMA. It triggers both the green light and red light reflex and, due to a strong emotional reaction, also increases the asymmetry of the trauma reflex.
Aleš Ernst, author of the AEQ Method®
