it may be more helpful to think of humans as having many ‘minds’ rather than

just one

john teasdale:

cambridge psychologist

these different mind-body states are linked to different emotions, different

body landscapes, different ways of thinking, different access to memories,

and different behaviours

theoretical maps are crucial: 2

‘body-mind as house’ model

it’s easiest to recognize the different ‘rooms’ by noticing the different characteristic emotions they are linked to

all human beings have much the same set of emotional mind-body ‘rooms’ in our ‘houses’

all the rooms are there because, in the appropriate situation, being in the room promotes survival

when we’re in one room, it’s hard to remember there are any other rooms in the house: feelings/thoughts/memories

problems arise when we get stuck in inappropriate rooms

humans are like houses with different rooms which represent our different

mind-body states

examples of emotional functions

anxiety can serve an individual by making them hypervigilant - ready to run or freezeand it also alerts others to possible danger

anger can help an individual act rapidly to defend themselves when their territory is invaded & it serves to frighten others away

depression can occur when our movementtowards a major goal is blocked - it causes us to pause, re-evaluate and change direction

‘body-mind as radar’ model

the body-mind is like a radar & rapid response system constantly assessing

whether the outer & inner environments are favourable or unfavourable

emotions (like a constant wash of changing colours) are ‘readings’ from this radar & rapid

response system the emotional radar system is ‘quick & dirty’

triggering rapid responses that may be accurate, adaptive & possibly life-saving or

inaccurate & unhelpful

Well, it’s a delicate situation , sir ... sophisticated firing system, hair-trigger mechanisms, and Bob’s wife just left him last night, so you know his mind’s not into this.

Gary Larson

emotionscan be

disruptive,particularlyif stuck orexcessive

we are typically unhappy because of our emotional state – emotions are at the heart of improving wellbeing.

working to construct maps & models of what has been happening is often very therapeutic in its own right.

becoming clearer what we are really feeling is a crucial aspect of learning from our emotions (‘arriving’).

what we do with the feeling (‘leaving’) depends on whether or not the underlying emotion seems ‘adaptive’.

try to use ‘adaptive’ emotions – including ‘positive emotions’ – to fuel constructive action.

work to ‘process’ and update ‘non-adaptive’ emotions.

some of the many possible implications

possible implications for wellbeing

developing skills in application

formal practice

developing a trigger phrase/focus

first “differential” practice

second “differential” practice

the reminder dot exercise

stressful real life situations

when you are not using the recorded exercise try other simple activities as

challenges: for example eating, walking, cleaning

your teeth & so on