Thought blocking paradox: what it is and how it affects us

Try not to think about what you want to avoid thinking about. Has your partner left you? Do you have to avoid eating chocolate? You want to quit smoking? Stop thinking about it. Make sure you don't think about it at all.

Recommending doing everything possible not to think about something you don't want to think about is some of the worst advice you can give. The simple fact of trying to free the mind from the thought that one does not want to have makes us think about it, paradoxically.

That is the paradox of blocking thoughts., a strategy that, instead of achieving what you want, causes us just the opposite situation and with even more force. Let's see it.

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What is the thought blocking paradox?

Let's start with an exercise. Don't think about white bears. Throughout this article, dear reader, do not think about white bears at all. Try to avoid thinking about white bears at all costs, and make sure you don't think about them by keeping an eye out for any white bear-related thoughts that may come to mind.

Trying not to think about something in particular is usually a task with bad results, since in the end we end up thinking about it even more.. We can either call this the paradoxical effects of thought suppression or, also, the thought block paradox. Like it or not, simply trying not to actively think about a particular thought is, itself, actively thinking about that very thought, which sabotages our attempt at delete it. In short, trying to avoid a thought makes us less able to control it.

This phenomenon is something tremendously common in our lives. How many times have we tried to avoid thinking about something that worries or scares us? For example, if we are trying to quit smoking, how many times have we tried not to actively think about smoking? And how many times have we ended up doing it, despite so actively trying to avoid it? It is such a common technique and, at the same time, so little useful that science has not been able to resist showing how little recommended it is.

History of the concept

The first studies on actively blocking thoughts begin in the 1980s., although Sigmund Freud himself had already advanced at the beginning of the century, but speaking of "repression" instead of "suppression of thoughts". Daniel Wegner was one of the first to scientifically address the phenomenon, defining the suppression of thoughts as the deliberate act of trying to get rid of unwanted thoughts from the mind aware.

Wegner himself relates this paradox to his theory of the ironic process in which he explains that by trying to suppress a thought, people activate two cognitive processes. On the one hand, we try to create the desired mental state, that is, the one in which the idea is not found in the one we don't want to think about and, furthermore, we occupy our minds with other unrelated ideas as a way of distractors. But on the other, we have to make sure that the idea does not appear, watching if it comes back, and the simple fact of being aware of the "forbidden" idea makes it appear and we think about it.

Wegner's research showed that actively blocking a particular thought often leads to thinking about it even more., giving rise to what has been called the “rebound effect”. As this effect is just the opposite of the effects that the person who performs the thought block wants, not thinking about the thought or carrying out out the problem behavior, this strategy has been blamed for contributing to obsessions, diet failures, difficulties in giving up bad habits such as smoking or to drink.

It has not been difficult at all to replicate this phenomenon at an experimental level since it is enough to tell a person not to think about something for them to fall into the thought blocking trap. As hard as he tries, he doesn't let go of his troublesome thought, it's like he's adding fuel to the fire, but without knowing it. No matter how hard you try to make it fade away, all you do is make it even stronger. Do you remember not thinking about white bears? Don't think about them...

Thus, there is widespread acceptance and scientific evidence that gives strength that blocking thoughts is not a good strategy to control our mind, since it feeds intrusive thoughts. This has been linked to mental disorders, especially anxiety such as stress disorder post-traumatic and obsessive-compulsive disorder, mental conditions in which there are recurring ideas. Asking the patient not to think about them makes them think even more, which can aggravate their condition.

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Blocking unwanted thoughts and behavior

Thought blocking is not only not a good strategy to avoid thinking about a thought or memory, but it is also not very useful when trying to avoid is carrying out a behavior determined. For example, when you try to stop smoking, eating junk food, or doing any other behavior, you often resort to this strategy, thinking that if you don't think about it, you won't have as much desire to do it. The problem is that the opposite effect is achieved, thinking about the behavior that has to be avoided and wanting to do it even more.

For example, if I am on a diet and have been told not to eat chocolate, which is my favorite food, I will have to make an effort not to eat it. In order not to feel like eating it so much, I will do my best not to think about it, but if I say to myself "don't think about chocolate" I'm not only going to think about chocolate, but I'll also want to eat it more and there will be more risk of falling into temptation.

And this case of chocolate is just what the group of James Erskine and colleagues saw in 2008. These researchers asked a group of participants to suppress thoughts related to the chocolate and, later, they were asked to do a task apparently unrelated to this first instruction. After doing it, they were offered food of different types. The participants who were part of the group that had been thought not to think about chocolate ended up eating much more of this sweet than those in the control group.

Another experiment also by Erskine and colleagues from 2010 tested the effects of asking a group of smokers who did not think about smoking and how this affected the total number of cigarettes they smoked. they consumed. Participants were asked to record in a diary for three weeks how many cigarettes they smoked per day. In the second week the instructions were given: one third were asked to actively try to think about not smoking, another third were asked to actively think about smoking and the rest was told nothing, with the common instruction to all participants not to alter their behavior normal.

As surprising as it may seem, both in the control group, which was not asked for anything, and in the group that was he asked them to think explicitly about the idea of ​​smoking their number of cigarettes smoked per day as soon as change. Instead, it was found that the group that was asked to actively not think about smoking smoked more than they had during the first week of the experiment. In other words, asking someone not to actively think about an avoidance behavior or the thought associated with it makes them do it even more.

Conclusions and recommendations

Since trying not to think about something makes us think about the same thing even more, it is clear that blocking thoughts is not a good technique to get rid of obsessions or unpleasant ideas, nor of behaviors to avoid. Its effects are clearly counterproductive and the best thing is to keep your mind occupied with other thoughts without actively thinking about not thinking about the idea to avoid.

Whether it's avoiding thinking about white bears, smoking, eating chocolate, or drinking alcohol, trying to avoid thinking about white bears by telling ourselves “don't think about X” doesn't work. The best thing to do, as long as it is not an obsession, would not be pathological behavior at extreme levels (p. g., alcoholism) is to think about what you are doing, keep your mind occupied and, in case the unwanted idea appears, let it pass.

Naturally, If the problem is getting worse and it is impossible for us to passively get rid of the idea to be avoided, the best thing to do is see a psychologist. who will offer us effective techniques to get rid of the obsession or stop doing the behavior we want to get rid of. Of all the techniques that he will offer us, there will be techniques that serve exactly what blocking thoughts is used for. does, that is, avoid thinking about a specific idea, only with the advantage that you will not actually think about it. it. Keeping your mind busy is usually the best option.

Bibliographic references:

• Abramowitz, J.S., Tolin D.F. & Street, G.P. (2001). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Clinical Psychology Review, 21:pp. 683 - 703.
• Erskine, J.A.K. (2008). Resistance can be futile: Investigating behavioral rebound. Appetites, 50, 415–421.
• Erskine, J.A.K. & Georgiou, G.J. (2010). Effects of thought suppression on eating behavior in restrained and non-restrained eaters. Appetites, 54:pp. 499 - 503.
• Erskine, J.A.K., Georgiou, G.J. & Kvavilashvili, L. (2010). I suppress therefore I smoke. Psychological Science, 21:pp. 1225 - 1230.
• Freud, S. (1990). The psychopathology of everyday life. London: Norton. (Original work published 1901)
• Wegner, D.M. (1989). White bears and other unwanted thoughts. New York: Viking/Penguin.
• Wegner, D.M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychological Review, 101:pp. 34 - 52.
• Wegner, D.M., Schneider, D.J., Carter, S. & White, T. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53:pp. 5 - 13.