The frequent perception that suppressing adverse ideas is dangerous on your psychological well being could possibly be unsuitable, in keeping with a brand new research.
Researchers requested volunteers to dam adverse ideas and located their psychological well being improved and the ideas turned much less vivid.
Professor Michael Anderson, from Cambridge University, stated medical remedy has accepted the concept suppressing ideas really results in them turning into extra pervasive.
“The whole point of psychotherapy is to dredge up these thoughts so one can deal with them and rob them of their power,” he stated.
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, he determined to interrogate this concept to see if he may assist individuals by means of the pandemic.
Working with Dr Zulkayda Mamat on the Medical Research Council (MRC) cognition and mind sciences unit, they recruited 120 individuals throughout 16 international locations to check whether or not it may be doable – and useful – for individuals to apply suppressing their fearful ideas.
Each participant was requested to consider a variety of eventualities that would occur within the subsequent two years – 20 adverse fears, 20 constructive hopes and 36 mundane and impartial occasions.
The fears needed to be present worries that had repeatedly intruded of their ideas.
For every situation, they offered a cue phrase that may remind them of the situation and a single-word element.
Half of the members have been informed to stare at one in every of their adverse phrases for just a few seconds and acknowledge the concern, however then block some other ideas.
The different half members got the identical task, solely with their impartial phrases. The train was repeated 12 instances per day for 3 days.
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At the tip of the experiment, the group that suppressed adverse ideas reported reported that these fears have been much less vivid and their psychological well being had improved in contrast with the group that suppressed impartial ideas.
The outcomes held true three months after the experiment ended.
“What we found runs counter to the accepted narrative,” stated Professor Anderson.
“Although more work will be needed to confirm the findings, it seems like it is possible and could even be potentially beneficial to actively suppress our fearful thoughts.”
Source: information.sky.com”