Thoughts Are Like Viruses

What is a virus? It is a small segment of genetic material, DNA or RNA, enclosed in a protein envelope. It is neither dead nor alive. It simply exists. Viruses are everywhere. For example, a tablespoon of fresh water contains up to 500 million viruses. The human body contains 100 trillion to one quadrillion of them, far surpassing the number of cells in your body (30 trillion). The vast majority interact with bacteria. They have no internal metabolism; they cannot attack; they just are. ^(1,2)

Each cell in your body has multiple receptors for various molecules that signal behaviors appropriate to the internal environment as it responds to the external environment. Viruses come in myriad shapes and dock with specific receptors on the cell membrane. The genetic material is injected, and it is game on. The virus is now active and can wreak havoc. The virus must dock with the cell to be functional.

Thoughts are also not alive. What are thoughts? They don’t even exist. They are patterns of electrical activity in the brain that become etched in with repetition. The synapses (the spaces between neurons) become more sensitive, and patterns become the path of least resistance.

Thoughts interpret your physiology

Physiology comes first. Every living organism interacts with its surroundings through physiological and motor responses to optimize survival. The essence of life is found in single-celled organisms, and complexity evolved. This has been true for billions of years. Homo sapiens evolved several hundred thousand years ago without complex language. Other Homo species were essentially as intelligent, but the unique rounded shape of the forehead allowed more complex function. Chimpanzees and bonobos are 98.8 percent genetically similar. Crude language originated about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago, and complex language with abstract thinking is between 50,000 and 70,000 years old. Humans can think about thinking, and the concept of time arose. Physiology's driving force is far more powerful than your conscious brain. ^(3,4,5)

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Humans uniquely use complex language to interpret, conceptualize, and name these internal signals (emotions). Because our first biological imperative is to survive, much of our physiology is geared toward fight-or-flight. As a result, a disproportionate share of our thoughts is negative. We dislike these sensations and the unwanted thoughts that accompany them. However, the bigger problems stem from how we react to these negative thoughts. When we resist them, the body confirms they are threatening, further activating the threat response. This creates a loop of repetitive unpleasant thoughts that grows stronger with resistance. Why don’t we have trouble with repetitive positive thoughts? We don’t fight them. They drift in and out, creating a sense of safety. To embed them, you must train yourself to embrace them.

You are your thoughts

You may have heard the term “You are not your thoughts.” That statement is incorrect. Repetitive unpleasant thoughts are now fully integrated into your entire being, and fighting cannot and doesn’t help. It creates more entanglement, and you become your unwanted thoughts. One term for this phenomenon is cognitive fusion; these thoughts have now docked and have become powerful drivers of threat physiology.⁽⁶⁾ It is a deadly downward spiral that is solved only by deeply understanding the problem and learning strategies to separate from your thoughts (defusion) and redirect your attention toward what you want instead of what you don’t want.

The COVID virus is an example. It is also inert until it docks with your body. It is a foreign invader that your body fights to eliminate. The entire immune system is activated, including small signaling molecules called cytokines. The damage comes from the assault on your body, driven by inflammatory cytokines. The virus is less the problem than the body’s response to it. The more intense the battle, the more damage is done.

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Consider unwanted thoughts. Like the COVID virus, they are inert. An infinite number of thoughts float in and out of our heads, with minimal effects. However, when we feel threatened, our reaction evolved into an incredibly intense alarm signal that humans label anxiety. Thoughts reflecting this physiological state are negative and often extremely unpleasant. With cognitive fusion, the brain cannot differentiate repetitive unpleasant thoughts from a real physical threat. In nature, one threat is dealt with at a time. For humans, unwanted thoughts never stop and worsen as fighting them confirms that they really are threats.

There are answers to repetitive unpleasant thoughts

The body’s response to viral invasion is to mount an immune response, which is normally effective. However, for a permanent foreign body, such as an organ transplant, or for an overactive immune response, there is only one answer: Suppress it. This is achieved with immunosuppressive medications. In other words, stop the reaction. With organ transplants, suppression is necessary long-term. When we remove suppression, an intense host-versus-graft reaction can be fatal. Does this sound similar to repressed unwanted thoughts?

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Dealing with repetitive unpleasant thoughts is easier. The reaction is the problem, not the thoughts. The strategy is similar: you can train your body and brain to avoid reacting. Although deep healing occurs in a state of safety, you cannot achieve it while you are fighting thoughts. Two basic starting points for addressing this:

• Defusing, separating from your thoughts
• Learning strategies to calm the threat physiology.

Both are necessary.

Calm your body first

Calm Your Body, Heal Your Mind presents these principles in detail, focusing on developing skills to become a professional at living. That means facing life’s inevitable adversity head-on and learning to stimulate your brain to change in the direction you choose (neuroplasticity).

You can reduce repetitive unpleasant thoughts by learning to disengage from your thoughts and calm your reactions. Examples of disengagement include expressive writing, awareness, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral techniques.

Calming the threat-response physiology is a multipronged approach of dynamic healing. Every living creature must process its circumstances (input), synthesize data from multiple inputs (your mind and body), and send signals (output) to create physiology and actions appropriate to the situation. Strategies can change the input, calm the body and nervous system, making it less reactive, and directly calm the threat response.

Neither viruses nor thoughts can harm you unless they connect to living cells. With viruses, we have no choice but to fight them with an immune response. But with thoughts, we have a choice. “Give up.”

“What do you mean, give up?”

Give up fighting the unwinnable battle against your unwanted thoughts and focus on creating the life you want. Healing comes from forward-moving action.