Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts

by Sally M. Winston PsyD

Myth 5: Thinking Something Makes It Likely to Happen

Believing that thinking something somehow makes that thing more likely to happen or makes it more true is the basis of this myth. Many people don’t like the idea of negative thoughts because they believe that having negative thoughts means that more negative things will happen. Some people believe that negative attracts negative and that positive attracts positive.

Fact: This is a complete misunderstanding of what is known about thoughts. Psychologists call this myth thought-action fusion (Rachman 1993, Salkovskis 1985) or ...

RJAFTP

R: recognize J: just thoughts A: accept and allow F: float and feel T: let time pass P: proceed. You can make up a sentence