Lying brains are cognitive distortions, patterns of thinking that are false or inaccurate, often driven by fear and reinforced over time because we fail to confront them and become passively compliant to their voice.
These distortions can result in people experiencing either anxiety, phobias, paranoia, depression or poor mental health in general.
If you have repeatedly capitulated to cognitive distortions and find yourself struggling with any of the aforementioned issues, don’t lose hope, it is possible to shut that lying brain down. And like anything, what takes time to build up and embed itself in your life, also takes time to rectify and set on a healthier trajectory. It is a journey not a sprint!
The first step is determining what’s real and what isn’t.
A known acronym for this is F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real.
No one would suggest that anxiety, phobias, paranoia, depression or poor mental health are figments of people’s imagination. Far from it!
Most people would agree that negative thoughts, lead to negative feelings and somatic symptoms, which in turn lead to negative behaviours to compensate or escape the thoughts, associated feelings and symptoms. And so, the cycle becomes embedded; and it all starts in your brain!
A beginning step is to challenge the liar!
Two critical questions to ask when starting to experience negative somatic symptoms associated with your thinking are:
- What’s the evidence that the way I’m thinking about this is accurate?
- What’s the evidence that the way I’m thinking about this inaccurate?
This step requires you take a spectator’s perspective of your situation, become the narrator of the event to create emotional distance. As you physically write down a list of evidences for both camps, observe your somatic responses.
Follow the positive response!
This is not the end of the journey but it is definitely a great place to start regaining control of your life. In the words of Cesar Millan, dog whisperer, “Repetition creates the master”.
So, make a start today and challenge that lying brain.
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