Any anecdata on successful ways to shed sticky thoughts once depression has been (mostly) beaten?
replies(6):
The way to deal with an unpleasant thought or feeling is to experience it. Find a quiet place where nothing will distract you. Sit down, call back the unpleasant emotion, and experience it. Don't try to "let it go" or anything; don't do any kind of thought processing. Instead, dive into the feeling completely and even "turn the volume up" on it. "These people treated me so wrong!" Let it scratch you. Let it have its say, as fully as possible.
What usually happens for me, strangely, is that the emotion has its say and then I... somehow forget what I was feeling. My mind drifts, the edge blunts, the unpleasantness becomes harder to recall. I try to call it back again with all force, and it comes back, but weaker and weaker each time. And then it becomes just another abstract item of memory, its power over me gone forever.
I believe it can be very effective if done right for certain emotions, but not for everyone.