Thought Stopping


To be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking
is to be conscious of our own existence.

      Aristotle


Never underestimate the power of your thoughts to affect your feelings and your behavior. Here's a true example about a former LPC student:

During tests, every time a freshman student looked at his watch to see how much time was left he immediately had the thought "There's not enough time." He had that thought even when there was plenty of time.

Once the thought was present, it would pop up during the test seemingly automatically again and again. Eventually he became so stressed that his concentration was disrupted. Sometimes this pattern caused him to do less well on a test than he otherwise would.

Left unchecked, this pattern could have led to severe text anxiety with resultant bodily symptoms prior to tests. The student might have eventually come to believe that he was not academically able and alter his plans to go to law school. He might even have dropped out of college (This didn't happen; he is now an attorney).

Thought Stopping helped save this student's academic career. Here's how.

  1. Awareness. He became aware of the pattern, including both the "trigger" (looking at his watch) and the subsequent thought (There's not enough time.)
  2. Stop! Forcefully saying "Stop!" to himself during tests when he became aware of the thought. Sometimes he'd imagine a STOP sign. Eventually his favorite Stop! became saying to himself "My negative thinking is hurting me right now. I don't want to hurt myself. I'm going to stop."
  3. Relax. After reminding himself to Stop!, he would put down his pencil, close his eyes, put his feet flat on the floor, and take three deep breaths.
  4. Replace the thought. He would replace the thought about time by saying to himself with confidence, "I'm ready." The confidence was about feeling in control of his thoughts and not necessarily that he would do well on the exam.
  5. Resume. When he felt ready, he would go on with the test.

Resource: Negative Thought Stopping...by Jacques Dallaire, Ph.D.