I was out for a walk with my family when I saw a bumper sticker: “Don’t believe everything your brain tells you.”
Interestingly when I did an internet search, this phrase came up repeatedly in regards to cognitive psychology and perception and sensation. Our brain actually fills in many gaps in visual processing: our eye projects an upside down image with many holes to our brain, which fills in missing details from the data (a combination of guesses and previous data from a few milliseconds ago) and inverts the image. It also makes assumptions, such as corners being 90 degrees (this is how optical illusions often work, ‘tricking’ your brain with its own assumptions).
In the same way, we make assumptions about our thoughts in regards to anxiety and depression: if we think it, it must be true. This can be a dangerous trap, increasing anxiety and decreasing one’s mood when things may actually be ok. We look at the wing of the plane flexing in flight and think “That’s not right, that massive metal wing is shaking!” We wake in the morning and think “I feel tired, it’s going to be a bad day.” Before we make these assumptions we need to examine our thought patterns to see if they’re realistic:
- The wings on planes are designed to flex: if they were too rigid they would crack. It can look scary, but that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous or a problem. How much do I know about aerodynamics and flying to understand what is normal and what isn’t?
- I often feel tired in the mornings. I can choose to have a good or bad day by what I do today, as opposed to how I feel right now. Some exercise, a healthy breakfast, a cup of coffee and talking with a friend might help me get on track.
We tend to use information without thinking about it, but we need to ensure that the information we are acting on is accurate. Sometimes we hold onto information because it comes from a trusted source (a parent warning a child that all dogs are dangerous), is emotionally scary or exciting (a forwarded email from a friend about a friend’s friend’s kid who was almost kidnapped). We need to think through information not on how something makes us feel as opposed to the relevance of the event (How often does my mom want me about killer dogs, and how often do I see them attacking people when I’m at the park? How often are individuals kidnapped in my city?).
Scary isn’t the same thing as dangerous. Catastrophic events do occur, but do they happen so often that I need to change my plans? Life can be stressful, no doubt, but is there an issue I need to address, or is the issue my thinking?