Whirlpool thinking

I have often used the metaphor of a whirlpool when working with clients who present feeling down and consumed with negative thoughts.

The whirlpool metaphor

Whirlpools suck us further and further down as they pull in more and more intrusive thoughts and memories, and they hold us in their power. Then we start digging up dirt from the past to add to our pain. I have found that clients readily relate to this as an apt description of what they are experiencing.

 Of course, once thought processes are described this way, they have been externalised and have lost some of their power. There is a shift from the thoughts controlling them to the client beginning to control their thought processes.

Escaping from the whirlpool

I have found a number of useful tools that can assist in extracting people from whirlpool thoughts, and these include:

1. Identifying the first thought that led into the whirlpool. This tool comes from the personal experiences of both myself and some of my clients. For some reason, once the first thought is remembered, this particular whirlpool automatically ceases.
2. Recognising being caught in the whirlpool, and distracting and re-focusing on something more positive.
3. Going into a state of mindfulness -- connecting with the present and letting go of thoughts about the past and the future.
4. Thought stopping techniques have been suggested in the past, but here is another opinion on this:

             http://www.anxietycoach.com/thought-stopping.html

      4. Some more ideas can be found on the Positivity Blog here:

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/02/11/5-time-tested-techniques-to-control-and-calm-your-mind/

Longer term actions: diving all the way to the bottom

 In her book The Road to Shine Laurie Gardner describes an experience she had when she was training to become a white water rafting guide. She was told to dive into a dangerous keeper hole and that the only way to be released was to dive for the bottom, where the main current stream is located, as this would carry her out of the hole. She then applied this to her life by confronting the things that were holding her back, engaging in a journey of healing, and emerging "downstream" stronger and clearer than before.

This approach  leads to less likelihood of being caught up in whirlpool thoughts. I would also suggest that "diving all the way to the bottom" can be likened to the process of seeking the underlying themes and messages (often from childhood) that tend to drive the whirlpools. Once identified, these messages can be exposed to daylight and challenged.

 Reference: The Road to Shine: a Story of Adventure, Life Lessons, and My Quest for More Laurie Gardner, Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas 2014. I found this book at Booktopia:

http://www.booktopia.com.au/road-to-shine-laurie-gardner/prod9781937612597.html