That’s because it is—it’s arguing away a psychological misunderstanding. I can confirm that it works for me. I have tried to explain this to people in terms of warning alarms:
Most of the alarms for your body and mind are set WAY below threshold to avoid you only changing your behavior when it’s already too late.
It’s like a low battery light that comes on six months before the battery dies, or your alarm clock telling you WAKE UP NOW WAKE UP NOW, when it doesn’t actually know if you (currently) want to wake up. If your “Check Engine” light is on and you know it’s because the tech forgot to reset it, you’re not going to troubleshoot your engine every time you drive.
Your stomach will tell you you’re dying of hunger long before you starve;
Your hands will tell you to drop that hot plate even though it will not cause tissue damage;
Your muscles will tell you that you can’t lift a certain heavy object, and you stop because you’re listening to the alarms instead of using rationality to assess the actual situation.
The trick to these problems is not to ignore or suppress the alarms, but to think of them as helpful suggestions; this can serve to disconnect them from the emotional connotations that these simple alarms carry with them.
Hunger doesn’t hurt me, because I know that it’s just a reminder to eat.
Physical pain doesn’t cause me to panic if it’s to accomplish a goal and I know it won’t damage me. This surprisingly quiets a lot of the psychosomatic responses, at least in my case. Emotions follow the same pattern, but are easier to tackle when you first become accustomed to this type of override maneuver on your body.
That’s because it is—it’s arguing away a psychological misunderstanding. I can confirm that it works for me. I have tried to explain this to people in terms of warning alarms: Most of the alarms for your body and mind are set WAY below threshold to avoid you only changing your behavior when it’s already too late. It’s like a low battery light that comes on six months before the battery dies, or your alarm clock telling you WAKE UP NOW WAKE UP NOW, when it doesn’t actually know if you (currently) want to wake up. If your “Check Engine” light is on and you know it’s because the tech forgot to reset it, you’re not going to troubleshoot your engine every time you drive. Your stomach will tell you you’re dying of hunger long before you starve; Your hands will tell you to drop that hot plate even though it will not cause tissue damage; Your muscles will tell you that you can’t lift a certain heavy object, and you stop because you’re listening to the alarms instead of using rationality to assess the actual situation. The trick to these problems is not to ignore or suppress the alarms, but to think of them as helpful suggestions; this can serve to disconnect them from the emotional connotations that these simple alarms carry with them. Hunger doesn’t hurt me, because I know that it’s just a reminder to eat. Physical pain doesn’t cause me to panic if it’s to accomplish a goal and I know it won’t damage me. This surprisingly quiets a lot of the psychosomatic responses, at least in my case. Emotions follow the same pattern, but are easier to tackle when you first become accustomed to this type of override maneuver on your body.