What is cognitive defusion?
by Patricia McGuire, LPC-MHSP
Sometimes our thoughts feel like a constant feedback loop - with no break, no reprieve. We can feel out of control, disheartened, and stuck. While it often seems like our thoughts happen to us, our thoughts actually happen from us. There are many ways we can interact with and re-route our thoughts, including thought-stopping, thought-challenging, and — cognitive defusion.
Cognitive defusion is the mental process of unhooking ourselves from our thoughts. Our minds are constantly observing and analyzing the world around us through our thoughts, consciously and unconsciously. Sometimes, it’s difficult to separate ourselves from our thoughts and we can become fused to the chatter of our mind. But we are not our thoughts, we are the thinker of our thoughts. By using interactive language, cognitive defusion gives us the ability to disentangle from the mental noise.
How to practice Cognitive Defusion:
Notice and label your thought (ex. “I always make mistakes and will never learn.”)
Separate yourself from your thought using the phrase I’m having the thought that… (ex. “I’m having the thought that I always make mistakes and will never learn.”)
Contextualize your thought in your mind with the phrase my mind is having the thought that… (ex. “My mind is having the thought that I always make mistakes and will never learn.”)
Cognitive defusion allows us to distance ourselves from our thoughts. Engaging in this ongoing practice looking at our thoughts, as we experience them will help us find relief from the endless replay in our minds.
Go deeper: https://contextualscience.org/cognitive_defusion_deliteralization
If this resonated with you and you’d like to explore these ideas further, connect with Patricia McGuire Counseling here
