Whenever you catch yourself:
Stuck in repetitive thoughtsWorrying about work, your health, or other peopleFeeling negative or frustrated about your emotional stateLooping through the same fear-based or anxious thoughts again and againWhenever you find yourself awake, thinking and thinking instead of getting a good night’s sleep—
Spinning through ideas, memories, or tomorrow’s to-do list
Rehashing conversations or imagining future scenarios
Caught in a merry-go-round of mental noise, of a busy mind
TRY:
The Brain Retraining Sequence
which is:
❶ Conscious recognition of habitual thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
❷ Interrupting your automatic, habitual state and getting into the present moment
❸ Creating new neural pathways with rehearsed mental messages, creative visualizations, focused mindful awareness, and elevated emotional states
How do you do it?
It's quite simple. Like this:
STOP!
Pause.
Take a breath.
This is the pattern interrupt.
Next is environmental orienting.
Shift your focus away from your thoughts, symptoms or stress and look around you.
Take a moment to notice where you are in your space.
Are you sitting? Feel the chair beneath you.
Are you standing? Feel your feet on the ground.
Now look for one thing in your environment that feels comforting, interesting, or uplifting.
It could be something simple—a tree, a pet, a mug, a painting, a tree, a favourite quote, a song you love, or even the sky.
Really look at it.
Imagine it’s the first time you’ve ever seen it.
What makes it beautiful or special to you?
Breathe slowly.
Focus on this one thing and your breath, together, for 30 seconds.
Let it ground you. Let it bring you back to the present.
Now, notice how you feel.
Has anything softened, even slightly?
Do you feel a bit more present, or a little less caught in the loop?
This is the power of a pattern interrupt—it gives your brain a chance to step out of autopilot and choose a new response.
Repeat this practice as often as needed to gently bring yourself in the present moment.
The brain learns through repetition, so you need to repeat the process in different ways to form new habits, new thought patterns, and eventually real changes in how you feel.
The concept of pattern interrupt originates from: .
The Structure of Magic: A Book About Language and Therapy. Science and Behavior Books. (1975)Post credit also goes to:
https://www.primaltrust.org/