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Have you ever heard of “Stinking Thinking?” Hear what Andy Rodican has to say about the concept – and how you can get out of any rut using your IDQs: Identifying, Questioning and Replacing!
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“Stinking Thinking”
Do you suffer from stinking thinking? Many of us have beliefs about ourselves that in reality aren’t true, but we take as gospel. For instance, perhaps a teacher once told you in 3rd grade that “you’ll never amount to anything!” Maybe you were mercilessly teased as a kid because you were overweight and you lost all self-esteem and still believe you’re defined by your weight. There are a million beliefs that we inherit over a lifetime that can trigger our fears and anxiety without us ever knowing it. Until we can logically examine these fears and anxieties we will continue to self-medicate our anxiety with overeating.
Types of “Stinking Thinking”
1. Certain things I do are terrible.
2. It’s much easier to avoid something that is difficult for me.
3. I must always be perfect.
4. I must control everything that happens.
5. I have no control over my emotions/feelings.
6. I am not worthy of praise
7. Happiness comes from external forces that I have no control over.
The I-Q-R technique
There is a three step process to replace “stinking thinking” with rationale thinking, the IQR technique:
IDENTIFY-QUESTION-REPLACE
IDENTIFY: By knowing the categories of “stinking thinking”, you can detect these thoughts when they occur. This is the first step in admitting you have a false belief system.
QUESTION: When you identify a negative thought, take 10 deep breaths (in and out) and examine the thought to see if it is appropriate or exaggerated. Are you getting ready to “act out” (eat) based on a false belief? Once you identify the false belief you can now make a plan for how to replace that belief with realistic information.
REPLACE: Replacing negative thoughts and beliefs will not happen overnight. However, if you’ve worked the first two steps, you can now begin to reprogram your mind to see yourself as you truly are and as you really want to be. Since we bring about what we think about, you need to change our thinking if you are to make any progress. Your past does not equal your future! You have the chance to rewrite the script for your life, but you must practice daily seeing yourself living out your vision, whatever that may mean for you.
For example, many of my patients believe that “The last ten pounds are the hardest.” I tell them if you believe that, you’re right! I also tell them that if you believe “The last ten pounds come off easiest” you’re also right. We bring about what we think about. It’s your choice to Identify, Question and Replace or continue with mindless eating.
For more information on stress eating, check out our website!
- By Andy Rodican, PA-C, Founder/Associate Medical Director
