White Bears, Blue Monkeys, and Worry

Have you ever seen a blue monkey?  Don’t think about blue monkeys. Stop reading this for a minute while you try to stop thinking about blue monkeys.  If you’re like most people you’ve thought about blue monkeys because you were trying to avoid thinking about them.  You may have tried to think about green goats, reflect on your day, or use a relaxation strategy.  But in all likelihood you thought about blue monkeys again.

Bob, had enjoyed several good nights of sleep and then his sister who knows of his struggles with insomnia says just before they hang up – “I hope you sleep well tonight.” And then he starts thinking about whether he’s going to sleep that night and ends up tossing and turning.  He feels like he would be asleep by now if that well-intentioned sister of his hadn’t gotten him to start thinking about it.

Jenny is worried about losing her job.  She has no indication that she will be losing her job, other than knowing that a couple of her friends have lost their jobs.  She knows it’s pointless to worry about it and she tells herself “Jenny, don’t worry about losing your job.  It’s useless.  Put it out of your mind.”  But this seems to only make the worry stronger.

The White Bear Research by Wegner shows that if white bears are merely mentioned, people are less likely to be thinking about them a few minutes later than if they are mentioned and told not to think about it.  The effect is even greater when something the individual worries about (like money) is substituted for the white bears.

What to do? Common sense says, let yourself think about it, and there is some truth to that.  “Tune in” to my next blogs for more advice on what to do instead of trying to put your worries out of your mind. Until then worry postponement is effective. See my blog on Scarlette O’Hara on 2/5/21 and part 2 on 3/31.