Transcription:
Bill Gasiamis 0:00
Bill from recoveryafterstrike.com, I wanted to talk today about the question that I was asked on Instagram the other day, which was whether or not I could suggest anything to break negative thought loop patterns.
Bill Gasiamis 0:16
And these thought loop patterns were of a sarcastic nature. So I didn’t ask how they’re affecting this person. But I realized that in order for them to want to be breaking them, it must be affecting them in a negative way, and not something that they prefer to go through.
Bill Gasiamis 0:34
So the simple answer is, I can suggest something and there’s a lot of things you can do to break loops of the negative type that put people into a cycle of sarcasm and therefore causing troubles in their life no matter how minor or major those troubles are.
Bill Gasiamis 0:54
Basically, a negative thought loop and the cycle that comes with it is a problem because the person experiencing exactly what it is that they’re describing. It’s a thought loop and it’s a cycle.
Bill Gasiamis 1:09
And being a loop means that there’s no end to it, it just goes round and round. So they’re already associating this thing that’s occurring as a loop. And the description of it is actually further cementing what it is that’s happening to them.
Bill Gasiamis 1:25
So one of the things that I can suggest to break it is when they describe it, they could describe it differently in that they could say it’s a process of thinking, that creates a negative outcome.
Bill Gasiamis 1:37
And therefore, it feels like when I’m on it, it goes around in a circle. And sometimes and this is the part that will help break it when they describe it differently. And sometimes it breaks the loop breaks when I do this, or when this happens or when this much time passes.
Bill Gasiamis 1:58
So now if they do have an idea of when the cycle breaks, they could now do an exercise that brings that break in the loop in the cycle, further to the beginning of when this thought process occurs, so to not allow as much time to lapse, and this is like a safe word, for example, if they notice themselves going into this cycle, or if they’re doing that with somebody, in particular, a loved one or a friend.
Bill Gasiamis 2:27
Then maybe what they can do is ask that person if I go down this path again and do this negative sarcastic thought process again, could you please use a safe word to snap me out of it, and they might come up with an interesting, safe word that is going to give them permission to say you’re doing the thought loop cycle again, but also gives them permission to interrupt the person who’s going down that path.
Bill Gasiamis 2:56
And then that person has to agree that they won’t get angry when I’ve been interrupted in that negative thought, loop and thought cycle. So that’s one of the things you can do. Now, the other thing you need to be aware of is that there are particular patterns of behavior.
Bill Gasiamis 3:13
And these things that have been with us for many years, as we’ve been, perhaps, may started when this person was a teenager, and then it was just continued into the 20s and 30s.
Bill Gasiamis 3:22
It was a behavior that perhaps was useful back in a time when it was appropriate when that person was 13 14 or 15, around a certain group of people, and it was appropriate. And that was okay. Now, you need to ask yourself whether or not that behavior which I did when I was a teenager, is still relevant and appropriate now.
Bill Gasiamis 3:45
And as a 40 or 50-year-old, it might not be appropriate behavior now. So it’s a good way to kind of understand that it was something that didn’t need to evolve to the next decade in the next decade in the next decade, and it certainly doesn’t need to continue evolving for decades to come.
Bill Gasiamis 4:03
Especially when the process is not a positive one, it’s a negative one. So what’s the point of continuing something that’s negative and causing grief and causing challenges in life?
Bill Gasiamis 4:16
Now, the other thing you need to be aware of is that negative loop cycles are things that have occurred over time the things that have been happening as a result of neuroplasticity.
Bill Gasiamis 4:28
So you’ve heard about neuroplasticity because you’re a stroke survivor. And you know how amazing neuroplasticity is, right? Well, neuroplasticity is not also amazing. It can also be negative, because in order for that cycle to begin, and then become a pattern of behavior, it has to be repeated many, many, many times.
Bill Gasiamis 4:50
And the more you repeat it, the more neuro pathways create are created in the brain supporting that behavior, and that makes it easier and easier to do every other time that happens, so you’ve got to reverse the cycle and change the spell.
Bill Gasiamis 5:07
And how you do that is to practice gratitude. So if you find yourself in a situation where the negative loop or the negative thought process is about to occur, and it’s because something has triggered you, you could, for example, stop for a moment and remind yourself what’s good about this situation, even if what’s good about it is that you’re just alive and that you’re realizing that you’re about to go into a cycle that you want to stop.
Bill Gasiamis 5:39
Even if that’s the only thing that’s good about that situation that is going to help you start to break the cycle and begin to change the neuroplasticity in the brain to start supporting the opposite of that cycle.
Bill Gasiamis 5:53
So that those neuro-pathways that support that cycle, start to slowly but surely this disappear and go away. Also, if you can catch yourself and remind yourself that you’re about to go into a cycle that’s not supportive, perhaps, and you’re doing that with another person or to another person, perhaps you can stop yourself sooner and apologize to that person, for your part in that cycle for your part in the behavior.
Bill Gasiamis 6:24
You don’t have to apologize for anything else, what they did or how they behaved or what they did to trigger you, but adjust your part in that behavior. And then with that, combining all those things and having this new awareness now, you’re going to start to slowly, slowly chip away.
Bill Gasiamis 6:41
And before you know it in a small amount of time, this pattern of behavior, this cycle has been broken forever. And now you’re starting to change that cycle and put something else in. Now what you’re also doing at that time, is you’re getting encouraged by noticing the difference in your interaction with that person that you normally would have gone down this path with.
Bill Gasiamis 7:06
And as you’re noticing the difference in the interaction, you’re getting excited by the fact that they are responding to you in a different way. And you’ve broken a pattern of behavior that’s been with you for a long time and interfered with your life in a negative way.
Bill Gasiamis 7:20
So they’re my tips on how to break a negative loop and negative thoughts cycle in a sarcastic that comes from this sarcastic place, and every other negative loop cycle that begins. And instead of doing that, from now on, what you might be able to do is start a positive loop cycle. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Bill Gasiamis 7:45
If your loop cycle was actually about something positive, and about giving somebody praise? Wouldn’t that be great? So do the switcheroo, change. All those things that I mentioned use those things to support the change And then when you get to the change, replace the change, replace the behavior with a new behavior.
Bill Gasiamis 8:06
That is about a cycle, a loop of positivity and a cycle of praising either yourself or that other person. I’m Bill for recovery after stroke calm. If you’re interested in more stories about recovery from stroke and more things that are interesting to stroke recovery, go to recovery after stroke, calm. Soon, there’ll be courses available.
Bill Gasiamis 8:28
There are already more than 110 podcasts available that you can download and listen with stroke survivors who are recovering from stroke, and I’m getting better and I’ve been doing a tough and slowly achieving new goals and, and healing and getting better every single day.
Bill Gasiamis 8:45
So go there, check it out. And if this resonated with you, leave some comments below tell me if negative thought cycle or loop is something that you’ve been in before and how you broke it and how you’re continuing to adapt and change your behavior after stroke.
