The Thank You Technique For Inner Peace

Hello everyone,

Sometimes during one-to-one sessions, a technique that people find useful for dealing with painful thoughts or emotions is the simple "thank you" technique. It can seem counter-intuitive at first, but it can be a good way to release resistance and no longer be stuck in a negative loop.

When a thought or feeling arises that feels negative, not useful to you but still doesn't seem to go away, saying "thank you" to the thought or feeling when it arises can start to take away its power. If it is something to do with anxiety, usually the anxiety thinks it is helping to keep you safe. Perhaps like a crazy friend on high alert all the time who wants to run into the room and tell you how unsafe you are. When in reality, you are probably fine. Saying "thank you" internally to the anxiety, because it is trying to help, can begin to change the relationship with it from fear or hostility, into more space, presence and acceptance. It can be applied to negative thinking in general. The negative thoughts seem to think they can prevent something from happening or change something unwanted.

Sometimes people tell me they are trying to "accept" how they feel, but they don’t know how to. Saying "thank you" to the thoughts or feelings can be a way to do this. You might notice that if you try it as an experiment - saying “thank you” to the thoughts or feelings because they are trying to help - you start to reclaim some of your power and you aren’t so taken over by the anxiety or negativity anymore.

There are lots of ways to deal with those types of thoughts or feelings, and this seems to be a simple one that works for some people. I hope it can help you too.