The thought can stay. It doesn't have to steer.

What is cognitive defusion?

Cognitive defusion is one of the core skills of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). We easily get fused with our thoughts: the mind says "I can't cope", and we treat it as a fact and let it make our decisions. Defusion means stepping back half a pace and seeing the thought as words the mind has produced.

It's different from a thought record. A thought record checks how accurate a thought is and looks for an angle that fits the facts better; defusion doesn't argue with the thought at all. It changes your relationship with it, so it pulls on you less and you can take it along while you do what matters.

This exercise isn't therapy and doesn't replace professional support. If the same kind of thought keeps weighing on you, practising with a counsellor or psychologist will take you further.

Cognitive defusion is one of the core skills of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl & Wilson, 1999/2012). "I'm noticing I'm having the thought…" and "leaves on a stream" are standard ACT exercises.

How it works

1. 1Write down a thought that's been hooking you lately, in its own words, and rate how tightly it grips you.
2. 2Try three standard ACT moves yourself: put "I notice I'm having the thought" in front of it, give its story a name, and set it on a leaf to drift down a stream.
3. 3Rate the grip again (whether it moved or not is fine), then choose one small thing you can do with the thought still there, and keep it on your defusion card.

References

1. Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. Guilford Press.
2. Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
3. Harris, R. (2009). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment therapy. New Harbinger.