8. Reframing Exercise

Welcome back to 15% better my series on managing chronic pain and chronic illness and today We're going to be going through a specific exercise because in part one we talked about different ways You could reframe distressing thoughts because when we have these negative thoughts often They don't hold up to the reality test and when we take a more objective look at them We find that things are a little more positive than we thought So what I'm going to have you do is grab a piece of paper feel free to pause now to grab a paper and pen So in the first column we're going to identify some of the negative or dist ressing thoughts that continually come up for you For example with chronic pain It may be something like my family doesn't care about me My pain will never let me have a happy or fulfilled life or doctors don't listen to me So why try so in column two we're going to identify the cognitive distortions you could associate with those Distressing thoughts for example and my catastrophizing is this black or white thinking and my projecting etc So in column three you're going to actually start writing Reframing statements based on the fact that we know these negative thoughts are based in cognitive distortions Now there's always going to be some reality to them But as we know we often twist them or magnify them or any of the other distortions that you identified So based on some of the negative thought examples I gave before some reframing statements may look something like well My family does care about me, but I've been distancing myself from them and if I make more of an effort our relationships can be better Another reframing statement could be well I can live a happy life with chronic pain However, I haven't been putting enough effort into finding the things that I love to do and if I do that I know I'm going to be a bit happier Lastly the medical system can be frustrating But if I keep at it I could find a provider I trust and that could help and in the fourth column We're going to write down some evidence supporting the fact that the realistic reframing statement is closer to truth And that we don't need to necessarily take those negative or distressing thoughts and internalize them and latch on to them For example, my family gives me affirmations.

They want to do activities with me though They may not understand my chronic pain I see them making an effort or I have found some activities that bring me joy Another example may be writing down five activities that have brought you joy things that you can do with your chronic pain Showing there's evidence that there are things you can do to bring you more fulfillment or Five actions you could take that will help you find a provider that you trust and may be able to give you helpful suggestions One of the things I find most effective in doing this exercise is repetition Some of those distressing thoughts that come to your mind are usually a pattern they come up all the time So if you're able to take out a sheet of paper and continuously write these down You'll begin to internalize them when those negative thoughts keep coming It's easier not to latch on to them because you've identified and instilled the fact that they are not Reality that you do not need to have them dictate the choices you make and have them ruin your mood or give you anxiety Our mind is constantly coming up with different narratives that dictate the way we see the world and make decisions But we don't have to make those a self-fulfilling prophecy.

They don't need to be truth They don't need to dictate our future So I encourage you to try this exercise and give it your all and I think you'll find benefit So I want you to stick around because in the next video I'm gonna walk you through a guided meditation that's specifically meant to help with chronic pain This is something that you could turn on at any point and it's gonna help change your mindset and allow you to have a healthy Detachment from some of those negative and distressing thoughts, so go check it out