Episode Details

Where Do Feelings Come From? Getting Unstuck from Apathy Ancient Stoic Philosophers--and More! Ask David Questions for Today

Bystad: Why is it so helpful to write down your negative thoughts when you're upset?

Anyinio: Do we have to have a thought every time we have an emotion? What if I see a car coming fast and about to hit me? Would I have to have a fast automatic thought?

Raghav: How can I get unstuck from apathy?

Anita: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for emotional distress as well as escape from emotional distress?

Louisa: Can you tell us some more about the ancient and modern Stoic philosophers who influenced the development of CBT and TEM-CBT?

Answers to today's questions. The following answers were written before the podcast. The information on the podcast may be quite different in some cases, and will typically provide much more information than the brief answers below. David

Bystad asks: Why is it so helpful to write down your negative thoughts when you're upset?

Dear David!

I have practiced the paradoxical approach where I just write down my thougts / worries without challenging them.

I think I learned that approach from your great book «When Panic Attacks».

This is something that really works for me, especially for worries. It is almost like I «get the worries out of my head».

Can you talk about this approach in your lovely podcast, why is it so effective for some people??

Best regards from Martin

David's reply

Great question. Will address it the next time we record an Ask David podcast!

Anyinio asks: Do you ALWAYS have a thought before you can experience an emotion / feeling?

David's response

The word "thought" is just a form of shorthand for perception. Perception can take many forms. When you see a car about to hit you, you already HAVE a negative and alarming thought!

If you like, you can check out the railroad track story in my Feeling Good Handbook. It is a story about a man who became euphoric after his car was hit by a train going 60 MPH because of his thoughts about it!

When a deer spots a pack of howling wolves, it runs in terror. It does not have a "thought" in English, but it DOES have the perception of being in imminent danger, and it DOES experience intense, sudden fear. However, the deer did NOT feel fear / anxiety until s/he SAW and correctly interpreted the pack of wolves.

Thanks, best, david

Raghav asks: How can I get unstuck from apathy?

Hi Dr. Burns,

I hope you're doing well and thank you so much for all of your incredible work! It has really helped me pull myself out of some of the deepest depressions and anxieties I've had.

I wanted to ask for your help with a problem I've been facing recently:

I seem to get stuck in depressive cycles at times where I don't want to do a DML even though I know it will make me feel better. When I start doing the positive reframing, it helps melt away this resistance, but I still mope around for a while before I start the positive reframing. My thoughts during this time are generally "There's no point to getting better," "Doing a DML is like forcing myself to cheer up," "I should care about getting better more than I do right now," and "There's no meaning to life." How would you recommend I go about dealing with this apathetic state?

I would greatly appreciate any help in this matter!

Thanks,

Raghav

David's reply:

You could perhaps list:

1. 1. All the really GOOD reasons NOT to do a DML.
   2. What the procrastin