Are Your Thoughts Spiraling? 3 Questions That Can Help You Stop Stressing
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Psychologist Martin Seligman's framework helps manage spiraling thoughts using three questions: permanence, pervasiveness, and agency.
- Questioning if a problem is permanent helps shift from an emergency state to tolerance by recognizing an endpoint.
- Assessing pervasiveness involves zooming out to see the bigger picture and unaffected areas of life.
- Identifying agency focuses on what actions can be taken to address the problem, reframing it as a solvable puzzle.
When worries escalate and thoughts begin to spiral, a framework developed by Martin Seligman, director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center, offers a structured approach to regain control. Seligman's research on resilience suggests that how individuals interpret their challenges significantly influences their perspective.
What can I plan to do about it?
His three-part framework encourages people to examine difficulties through the lenses of permanence, pervasiveness, and agency. Posing a question about each aspect can help individuals move from feeling overwhelmed to a more manageable state. The first question, "Is this problem permanent?" addresses the tendency for negative events to linger. Recognizing that a problem has an endpoint, even if painful, can help shift focus from an immediate crisis to a state of tolerance.
To combat the tendency to generalize from a single negative event, the concept of pervasiveness is explored. This involves asking, "Is this problem pervasive?" and actively looking at the broader context of one's life. By zooming out and identifying areas that remain unaffected and positive, individuals can gain a more balanced perspective, preventing a single issue from appearing insurmountable. This "zooming out" helps to see the whole picture rather than getting lost in a myopic view.
It allows me to think that in many cases, there is indeed a solution. I just need to find it.
Finally, the concept of agency is crucial. Seligman emphasizes asking, "Where do I have agency with this problem?" This shifts the focus from personalization, believing negative events are entirely one's fault, to identifying actionable steps. Pinpointing what is within one's control allows for a proactive approach, reframing the challenge as a puzzle with potential solutions rather than an insurmountable obstacle. This empowers individuals to direct their energy toward finding resolutions.
We can get so myopically focused that it looks enormous. Instead, zoom out and look at the whole picture.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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