you are not your thoughts

When you find yourself entangled by a distressing thought, it can be helpful to describe that thought by saying: “I notice I am having the thought of…”

The idea — formally known as defusion — is that by attempting to notice your thoughts instead of identifying with them, you can change how you relate to them.

You put yourself in a position to ask useful questions like:

Is this thought helping me in any way?

Is it creating unnecessary suffering?

The fact that it’s possible to build distance and ask questions of your thoughts in this way points to an important truth: you are not our thoughts.

In other words, with practice, it’s entirely possible to notice and accept that you’re having a distressing thought without identifying and being entangled by it.