We are all familiar with urges creeping into our heads. Our brains are tricky, creative things—we know that urges have hit us and will continue to do so! Remember, having the urge come into your head is ok. It is what you do with the urge that counts. This is where STOP THOUGHT comes in.

You can practice being mindful, keeping watchful for the point at which the urge comes into your head. When you see it, use the STOP THOUGHT technique to stop it in its tracks. When the negative thought enters your head, your response is to refuse to entertain the thought. The process is:

1. Recognize negative thought/urge.
2. Think: STOP THOUGHT! See the big capital letters, black on a white background.
3. Focus on something else right away.
4. If the thought comes back to you, repeat as necessary.

Here is an example.

It is 1:15 pm and you are still doing the work your boss threw on your desk at 10 that morning. You are having a rotten day at work and your husband is on your IM and and you are stuck with your addicted daughter calling you again on the phone. You are stuck, and today, you have had it up to here. You think, “That’s it, that’s enough. Today it’s enough, and when I get home, I will give her whatever she wants so I can be left alone—“

1. (you realize that you are getting cross and about to give your daughter permission to cross your boundaries)
2. STOP THOUGHT
3. You tell your daughter you need to go due to your work load, and you actually do start to work (DIVERT) When you focus on the work and the radio pumping in the background at the office, you quit thinking about the urge. You defeat the urge by DIVERTing.