Stop and swap unhelpful thoughts

The way we think about a situation shapes how we feel. This means that sometimes our thoughts about difficult situations can make them harder to deal with and see solutions.

In times of stress, it’s common to take shortcuts in thinking, such as jumping to conclusions, imagining the worst possible outcomes of the situation, or thinking in ‘all or nothing’ ways ‘like ‘this is the worst day of my life, I can’t deal with this’. Doing this can make you feel more stressed—making it harder to respond effectively.

Our High Res app and self-help tools offer simple thought ‘stopping and swapping’ tools that help get unhelpful thoughts out of your head so you can focus on the task at hand. Just like physical fitness, these are exercises to increase mental fitness.

The interactive tools simply and effectively show your thoughts visually dissolving or getting scrunched up and thrown out.

High Res also offers ideas for more helpful thoughts, such as:

• ‘I am strong, I can deal with whatever comes my way.’
• ‘Wait and see. Although I am fearing the worst, things could turn out fine.’

Managing our thoughts gives us more control over how we feel, and ultimately what we do.

All High Res tools follow the SMART approach (Self-Management and Resilience Training), which is an ADF program for enhancing stress management skills and improving resilience.

Training our minds helps to build flexible and adaptive thinking, and allows for the best outcomes in even the most challenging situations.

For more information and to try out our suite of SMART tools, see our Self-help tools and High Res app.