Have you ever heard the phrase “don’t believe everything that you think?” Sometimes we tell ourselves things that we would never say to a friend or someone we cared about. Thoughts such as “I’m a failure” or “I’m worthless.” Therapy can help us figure out why we are saying these things to ourselves, but in the meantime, here is an exercise you can try at home by yourself or even with a friend.
Pick a word, any word. The classic word is “lemon” (Titchener, 1916) but feel free to choose something else, such as “obey” or “dolphin” or even “toenail.” Say the word out loud and notice what your mind brings up. Are you seeing images or perhaps a memory or more thoughts pop up? Great.
Now, whatever word you picked, repeat the word over and over again, out loud, as fast as possible, for at least thirty seconds, until it becomes just a sound and starts to lose meaning. You may even start laughing, especially if you are trying this with someone else.
Now pick a thought or label you have told yourself in the past, a painful thought and repeat that word over and over again, out loud, for at least 30-60 seconds.
What did you notice? Did the word start to sound strange or even feel strange in your mouth? Most people find that the word or phrase becomes meaningless or strange within about 30 seconds. Those unkind words you say to yourself, they are just words. It’s a mental event in your brain that we often choose to believe, but it’s really just a word created by the movement of your mouth and vocal cords producing a sound, it doesn’t really have any meaning except what you give it. You can even try singing it in an opera voice or a chipmunk voice or as if you were underwater. Try experimenting with those labels and thoughts that keep popping up. It can help you change your relationship to those interesting sounds that your vocal cords are producing and even impact how you feel about yourself.
If you enjoyed this exercise, you might like more techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
