A Mindful Practice - Step 2 -

ABC’s 123’s of Anxiety and Mindfulness

The way we interpret the world makes a huge difference to how we react to any given situation. This can be called the ABC model of emotions. Understanding these, and implementing the below steps will create a mindful space, where staying present is possible. 

A: The situation. What a video camera would record.

B: The interpretation. What the narrator would say about the situation; the running story we create out of the situation. This often is just beneath the surface of awareness but is taken as fact.

C: Our reactions to the event. Our emotions, body sensations, and impulses to act in various ways.

Often we see A and C clearly, but we’re not aware of B. We think the situation aroused our feelings and emotions, when, it was our interpretation of the scene that did this. It’s as if the world were a silent film where we wrote the commentary. But the commentary, with its explanations of what is going on, happens so fast that we take it to be part of the film. It can be difficult to separate the facts of the situation from our interpretation of it. And it can be more and more difficult to argue against this. All future events will be interpreted to support this, while competing information will be ignored.

Our thoughts are like rumors in the mind. They might be true, but then again, they might not be.  We repeatedly try to quash rumors in our own minds. Take self-criticism: when we are feeling stressed or vulnerable, we only hear the inner critic, not the quieter voice of compassion. The emotional punch behind the thoughts is so powerful that it overwhelms all our logic. If we dismiss these thoughts as nonsense or tell ourselves to “get a grip,” our morale is further lowered, leaving us with feelings of weakness and inadequacy. And every time self-criticism begins, we immediately begin embellishing the story from where it ended. We look for supporting evidence and ignore everything to the contrary.

This situation, our interpretation of it, and then our reaction causes us unnecessary suffering and ends up making these thoughts far worse than necessary.

When we feel stressed or anxious, and life is frantic, thoughts often feel like the absolute truth about us and the world. But they are symptoms of the stress, just like a high temperature is a symptom of flu. And as you get more stressed, you believe more strongly in these thoughts. Is it any wonder that your mind reacts in negative ways? You just want to be relieved of the pressure, so thoughts such as, “I wish I could just disappear,” “why am I not enjoying this anymore,” “everyone relies on me,” “what’s the matter with me,” prevail, when if you are fully aware that these thoughts are symptoms of stress and exhaustion, rather than facts that must be true, you can step back from them. And this grants you the space to decide whether to take them seriously or not.

The practicum for implementing changing the interpretation of the event then becomes as follows:

A: Acknowledge the situation.

B: Buddha/Belly Breathe, then interpret.

C: Change Chain reaction into Controlled action.

Remember, your thoughts (positive and negative) are your servants, not your master.  Listen to, or observe these thoughts, but do not elaborate on them or get sucked into their drama. Let them go. In doing just this, you are cultivating a sense of stillness and peace.

To put this into the 1, 2, 3 countdown: 

1.  Recognize the emotion (doubt, anxiety, stress, rumination, fear). 

2.  Feel the flow of energy, coming from above or below. 

3. Act on this energy – remembering that inaction is sometimes the best action.

In other words: Emotion is the prompt to take action. Do not hang out with the inner disturbances. The longer you entertain them, the harder it is to remove them. It is okay to feel these emotions, yet cease to be involved with them.

Lastly, before reacting to outside stressors, HALT – ask yourself: Am I Hungry, Angry/Anxious, Lonely, Tired? These are our baseline triggers, so ferret out these needs first.

Sources: Williams, Mark, and Danny Penman. Mindfulness: An eight-week plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World. Rodale Press. 2011.

Singer, Michael A. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Self. New Harbinger Publications. 2007.