Internal Dialogue - #2 Mindfulness Series

Internal Dialogue - #2 Mindfulness Series

10/7/2020 

Henry T. Hill

10/3/2020 I posted on Facebook my amyloidosis al and peripheral neuropathy journey with some reference to how I applied mindfulness to my journey. To apply mindfulness you must become aware of your internal dialogue and record key thoughts in your daily journal and address daily your internal dialogue to change it from an unhealthy and unproductive dialogue to a healthy and productive dialogue. Mindfulness tools offers ways to become aware, to record and to address your internal dialogue. This task presents a challenge because you have spent your lifetime up to now learning patterns that repeat in your internal dialogue. You can’t unlearn these patterns, but you can learn a new pattern and substitute the new pattern when ever the old pattern shows up.

Today, 10/7/2020, I post how to develop and use your internal dialogue to begin your mindfulness journey. My next post will explain how I used Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Five Stages to Acceptance. I will continue to post the following topics:

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Five Stages to Acceptance
Pragmatism
Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
Transactional Analysis
Making Sense with General Semantics
Somatosensory Part of the Brain and the Role of Behavior Chemicals, Emotions and Physical Activity
Placebo Effect Concept
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Marshall McLuhan and The Medium Is the Massage
Words and Questions and Grammar and Chaos
Learning Theories
Poems and an Essay and Quotes
Feelings and Reactions

Internal Dialogue - Goal: To identify and remove “Self-suggested stressors” and to replace them with a healthy and productive internal dialogue

Internal dialogue, internal monologue, self-talk, inner speech, inner discourse or internal discourse all refer to an inner voice tied to sense of self, self-reflection, self-image, critical thinking, emotions and subvocalization. Human awareness often sees this internal dialogue as the “mind.” Negative self-talk contributes to depression, anxiety and other mental disorders. Cognitive therapy aims to improve functioning by helping people identify and change negative self-talk by checking reality, looking at alternatives, seeking other perspectives and setting realistic goals. The Voices Within by Charles Fernyhough published in 2016 offers an exploration of the “inner voice” and its role in thinking by helping regulate behavior, motivate positive behavior and help one become more conscious of their internal dialogue. Fernyhough stated that one quarter of the people studied engaged in inner speech which leaves many people who do not actively engage in inner speech. Fernyhough also described four different categories of inner speech: faithful friend, ambivalent parent, proud rival and calm optimist.

A Google of “Critical Inner Voice” (CIV) produces over 56,000 results.

The field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) takes an interdisciplinary approach incorporating: psychology, neuroscience, immunology, physiology, genetics, pharmacology, molecular biology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, infectious diseases, endocrinology and rheumatology to study the interactions between the nervous and immune systems and between mental processes including internal dialogue and health. “Stress and Psychoneuroimmunology Revisited: Using mind-body interventions to reduce stress” describes the normal state of the human body, termed homeostasis, as that state that maintains balance and health. Disruptive factors that cause stress, any external or internal demand placed on the body, affect the immune system including the neuroendocrine system and may disrupt the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis. Mindfulness tools using internal dialogue offer ways to move toward and to maintain homeostasis.

Examine thoughts with a critical eye to identify, to evaluate and to change unhealthy, unproductive thoughts into healthy and productive thoughts. Mindfulness offers tools to address these unhealthy and unproductive thoughts and to make changes to ensure the healthiest mind outcomes possible in any situation so as to restore and to maintain homeostasis.

Tips to develop and to expand an internal dialogue:

First, accept that thought exists as one of the important causes of actions which, when repeated, these thoughts become habits, and these habits become the basis of personality. Second, accept that the brain maintains a level of activity 24/7, day and night, year after year. Third, thoughts may take many forms such as feelings, dreams, images, sounds, smells, ‘flashbulb’ memories in the brain, but when they take shape as words, mindfulness techniques can work to shape those thoughts. Mindfulness can also address feelings, images and even memories.

According to “What are thoughts made of?” From the MIT School of Engineering, the human brain is composed of about 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) interconnected by trillions of connections (synapses) with some connections sending up to 1,000 signals per second all of which somehow produce thought.

Here is what MIT researchers think happens when you read the following words.

The photons associated with the patterns of the letters hit your retina, and their energy triggers an electrical signal in the light-detecting cells there. That electrical signal propagates like a wave along the long threads called axons that are part of the connections between neurons. When the signal reaches the end of an axon, it causes the release of chemical neurotransmitters into the synapse, a chemical junction between the axon tip and target neurons. A target neuron responds with its own electrical signal, which, in turn, spreads to other neurons. Within a few hundred milliseconds, the signal has spread to billions of neurons in several dozen interconnected areas of your brain, and you have perceived these words.

So asking how do thoughts form in the brain means asking for an explanation of how trillions of connections and billions of simultaneous transmissions come together in a brain to form a thought. Researchers believe that the brain links thoughts together in ways: that may promote and sustain homeostasis, that may have little or no effect on homeostasis, or that may disrupt homeostasis and therefore affect health and happiness.

Unsupervised Learning

Hebb’s Theory - “neurons that fire together wire together” ties together psychology and neuroscience. Donald Hebb in his 1949 book, The Organization of Behavior, foreshadowed what researchers now call “spike-timing-dependent plasticity” which helps explain associative learning where simultaneous activation of cells leads to synaptic strength between those cells which becomes the basis of unsupervised learning. Hebb’s Theory helps explain how Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Therapy argues that events do not trigger reactions. Events trigger learned belief systems and these learned belief systems trigger reactions. Unsupervised learning can result in learned belief systems which disrupt homeostasis. Mindfulness tools applied to internal dialogue offer ways to replace (unsupervised) learned belief systems with healthy, productive and positive (supervised learned) belief systems which can lead to a healthy and positive life.

The article, “How language shapes thoughts - what researchers know,” suggests words work as glue by allowing different experiences to form under one label. Often the label or umbrella denotes something we cannot see or touch. Compare the thought of “banana” with the thought of “freedom” by Googling each term and clicking on images. Clinical studies suggest that the brain stores/processes concrete concepts such as “banana” in a different area from abstract concepts such as “freedom.” Researchers estimate that 70% of the words used everyday designate abstract concepts, but most research on how the brain processes language base the research on words denoting concrete concepts only. This leaves abstract concepts, 70%, open to study.

Mindfulness can maintain positive thoughts which will manifest in positive behavior which will manifest into a healthy and positive homeostasis. Becoming conscious of thoughts, of their type and quality, allows one to stop certain thoughts, to divert thoughts, to modify thoughts, and to replace thoughts with positive, creative and powerful thoughts. To stop certain thoughts requires moment-to-moment discipline 24/7. Accepting this mindfulness premise means feelings of hurt, fear, hatred, denial, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, irritability, loss of appetite, loss of energy, loss of interest in daily activities, loss of pleasure, low self-esteem, restlessness, sadness, insecurity, jealousy, revenge, anger, unhappiness and depression come from thoughts that have become part of belief systems. Through mindfulness training you may learn to modify your belief system and therefore modify your feelings and behavior and even modify how your body reacts to the challenges of your disease.

Start by identify four types of thoughts: positive thoughts, negative thoughts, neutral thoughts and waste thoughts and try to eliminate negative and waste thoughts. Use mindfulness by setting alarms to monitor thoughts throughout the day. Get up early in the morning and observe your mind. Repeat the same exercise throughout the day and before going to sleep. Identify the thoughts, place them in the four categories and respond using mindfulness practices. Through conscious mindfulness one can change belief systems. See “Thought Consciousness: A Panacea For All Ills and Evils of Mind.”

Here is another idea to open yourself to productive and healthy mindfulness: hedonia vs eudaimonia and the six components of Ryff's six factor model for psychological well-being. Of the 70% of abstract concepts “happiness” presents great challenges. Psychologists present happiness as hedonic happiness - pleasure and enjoyment eudaimonic happiness - meaning and purpose. Both concepts come from the ancient Greek world and have supporters in our modern world. Most researchers believe that people require both to flourish.

If you have not experienced regular inner conversation, this new experience will open up whole new worlds. Apply mindfulness every day to reduce stress, to open yourself to the wonders and joys of the world around you and to the wonders and joy of the world inside you.

Now start journaling every day. I use Google Docs (free with a Google Gmail). I can view my journal from any device connected to the internet. I cut scrap paper into quarters and clip them together using a paper binder clip and take daily notes on the quarter sheets of paper which I then transfer to Google Docs the next morning. I started my journal when I received my diagnosis of amyloidosis on June 18, 2018. My journal now number 87 pages with over 50,000 words. Each day start with “Wednesday, 10/7/2020” and include the following: appointments, tests, drugs,reactions, doctors, nurses, foods, sleep/nap times, exercise, behaviors, chemicals, emotions, physical activity, and anything that helps to improve your quality of life and anything that decreases your quality of life. Put a bold heading above a day when you start or stop a drug or a treatment or anything that stands out as a change. I have added topics at the end of my daily journal such as: prayer list, special people, trivia, Bread baking, books, movies and TV shows watched, my prescription journey summary, new drugs that I may have to take, What I have learned rules, my personal prayers, etc.

For more see "Mindfulness vs Disease and Debilitating Symptoms Such As Pain, Fatigue and Loss of Coordination" by Henry T Hill on Amazon (September 23, 2020 and 153 pages and 3359 KB)

Works Cited

Bolognesi, Marianna. “How Language Shapes Your Thoughts - What Researchers Know.” ResearchGate, The Conversation, 26 July 2018.

de Sousa, Paulo, et al. “Inner Speech and Clarity of Self-Concept in Thought Disorder and Auditory-Verbal Hallucinations.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Dec. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5142361/.

Dougherty, Elizabeth. “What Are Thoughts Made of?” Ask An Engineer, MIT School of Engineering, 26 Apr. 2011, engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/what-are-thoughts-made-of/.

Fernyhough, Charles. The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves. Profile Books, 2017.

“Hebbian Theory.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebbian_theory.

Lorentz, Madeline M. “Stress and Psychoneuroimmunology Revisited: Using Mind-Body Interventions to Reduce Stress.” Https://Www.mm3admin.Co.za/Documents/Docmanager/6e64f7e1-715e-4fd6-8315-424683839664/00025132.Pdf, Alternative Journal of Nursing, July 2006.

Murray, Greg, et al. “The Mind-Body Relationship in Psychotherapy: Grounded Cognition as an Explanatory Framework.” Frontiers, Frontiers in Psychology, 1 May 2014, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00472/full.

Nathan, Howard J, et al. “Randomized Trial of the Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Pain-Related Disability, Pain Intensity, Health-Related Quality of Life, and A1C in Patients With Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.” Clinical Diabetes : a Publication of the American Diabetes Association, American Diabetes Association, Dec. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734176/.

Satsangi, Shipra, et al. Thought Consciousness : A Panacea For All Ills And Evils Of Mind. Dayalbagh Educational Institute, www.consciousness.arizona.edu/documents/TSC2018AbstractBookfinal3.pdf.

Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being. (2020, April 14). Retrieved October 07, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-factor_Model_of_Psychological_Well-being