My day just got better. The army announced (in my morning newspaper) that they will be training soldiers in hopes of averting suicide and depression. The method they will be using “seeks to defuse or expose common habits of thinking and flawed beliefs that can lead to anger and frustration.” They call the program emotional resiliency training. When a group of sargeants were asked if they thought the training was too touch feely one replied, “I believe so, sir.” I think that sargeant may just end up eating those words. According to the article, the training is based on the ideas of Dr. Aaron Beck and the late Albert Ellis who found that “mentally disputing unexamined thoughts and assumptions often defuses them.”
Now I must admit that the army didn’t contact me about this training, nor do I really know what the training entails, but based on what I’m reading, it seems like a step in the right direction. It’s certainly an improvement from deciding every last living soldier has a chemical imbalance and needs to be on anti-depressants. In my imagination, here’s how I picture the training. At least, this is what I’d do if I were designing the training, because it is the basis of all the work I do with my clients.
First, I’d teach the soldiers (as I do my clients) that feelings come from thoughts and actions come from feelings. In other words, you can’t have a feeling without a thought, even if you aren’t aware of the thought, and you can’t have an action without a feeling because actions need energy to drive them and feelings are energy. Then I’d help them realize that if you want to make a change in your life, you have the most success if you either become aware of your thoughts (both the conscious and subconscious ones) and change them, or you become aware of your actions and change them. Changing thoughts changes feelings and thus behavior. Changing behavior changes feelings, and thus thoughts. These days in our drug crazed word, the focus has been on change feelings with drugs, either prescription or legal substances or illegal substances. While it may be true that drugs change feelings, they don’t’ necessarily improve a person’s circumstances, at least not as much as working on thoughts or behaviors can. Finally, I’d help them learn how to discover their thoughts and/or examine new behaviors that are based on mutual respect, empowerment, and courage.
I’m going to write more about this and give examples in future blogs. For now, I just wanted to celebrate my joy by posting this blog.