Don’t Follow the Rabbit!

Do you struggle with “What If” thoughts? If not, maybe you know someone who does. If you do, do you often have the “What If” thought then start thinking about what you would do if it happened? What you would say? How you would feel? How others would respond? How you would respond to them? This is the “What If” rabbit hole. We have a “what if” thought and then proceed to plan out every little detail about what will happen next. But is this actually helpful?

How often do the “what ifs” actually happen? Probably not very often. Now if they do happen, is it going to actually follow what you have planned out in your mind? No because we can’t plan out exactly what other people are going to say and do, including our future selves in an unfamiliar situation. So why do we do this? Often times, it’s our desire to know any possible outcome, and to plan for things we feel are out of our control. We exhaust ourselves mentally and emotionally by planning all of this out for every scenario the “what ifs” bring us, often distracting us from what is really happening in our lives as well. We also make it easier for our brain to slip down the rabbit hole the more we do it. So how do we stop?

We must first learn to pay attention to our thoughts and emotions. Often times, we are so preoccupied in our fast paced world that we don’t take the time to monitor what we are thinking and feeling, two things that are very interconnected. So if we can learn to pay attention to our thoughts and recognize when we are starting down the rabbit hole we will be able to stop ourselves from jumping in. To stop, we go through the following questions. Is this really happening at this moment? Probably not. Is this going to happen? Maybe, but probably unlikely. Is this going to happen exactly the way we planned it? No. Is this a useful or helpful way to spend my time and energy? No. So we refocus our thoughts elsewhere.

This can be hard at first, especially when our minds are used to jumping down the rabbit hole. In the beginning, it might be a couple hours, or even days, before we realize we went down another hole. Little by little though, it will get easier to recognize and avoid the “what if” rabbit holes. If you would like more information about rabbit holes, anxiety, how the brain works, and other topics, please read our other blogs or contact us at (325)644-8757 to start your healing journey today. I look forward to talking with you soon!