ANTI-HEADACHE TECHNIQUE #17: LIBERATE YOURSELF FROM HEADACHES WITH COGNITIVE POSITIVISM
Every negative feeling is preceded by a negative thought that arises from holding one or more negative beliefs. Likewise, every positive feeling is preceded by a positive thought that arises from holding one or more positive beliefs.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if we drop our negative beliefs and replace them with positive beliefs, we are not only going to have a shot at feeling good all the time, but also that we can become virtually free of headaches and minimize our risk of getting almost any other disease or dysfunction. By changing our beliefs, we change the way we perceive potentially stressful life events.
For example, Smith and Jones are both laid off from their production-line jobs in an outdated plant. Smith fears that he will be unable to find another job. The thought of losing his home, furniture and car, and of being unable to support his family, makes him increasingly anxious and depressed. As Smith continues to perceive the situation in a fearful way, his anxiety increases and he begins to experience frequent tension headaches.
Jones, by contrast, perceives his job loss as a fortunate release from a boring occupation and as a wonderful opportunity to train for a new career in computers. Rather than getting headaches, Jones feels totally confident and capable, an upbeat mindset boosted by secretion of endorphins resulting from his positive feelings.
Although fictional, this illustration is repeated in real life millions of times each day. Both Smith and Jones perceived the same potentially stressful life event. But while Smith perceived unemployment in a negative way that created stress and headaches, Jones perceived his job loss as an opportunity for advancement—a positive viewpoint that left him completely free of both stress and headaches.
When we program the biocomputer that we call the brain with negative beliefs, we get out negative feelings and headaches. When we program it with positive beliefs, we get out positive feelings and freedom from headaches.
If that sounds oversimplified, it’s because we are dealing only with cause and effect. The actual bodymind mechanisms involved in the computer analogy are extremely complex. Yet in behavioral medicine, it isn’t essential to know how the mind or body works—results are what count. And the results we want are the results Jones got.
The big question is: How could Smith change his beliefs so that he too could perceive unemployment in the same stress-free way as Jones?
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