What’s an ABC (repost)
Hi Judy,
An awareness of both Warren and his role in our automatic behaviors
and of the 3 lists are only the first 2 steps toward retraining Warren.
Judy, are you familiar with Warren and the lists? The 3rd step, the key, is
a cognitive behavior modification tool called the ABC cognitive model. It’s
this ABC tool that we use to help Warren learn new responses to routine
events.
I think it’d be safe to say that all cognitive therapy, all cognitive
approaches, include a basic premise and it is that our responses to any and
every event are dependant on our beliefs about that particular event.
Example: I’m driving down the highway when another vehicle suddenly flies
past me at high speed. I’m startled (heart is thumping, breathing is
faster) and my immediate thoughts are “Holy poo!! That guy’s flying! What a
lunatic! That idiot is going to kill someone!! Coulda been me!! Where’s a
cop?!! Man, I hope someone nails that SOB.” Based on that perfectly natural
train of thoughts, I’ve concluded that that individual deserves loss of
license to drive, jail time, maybe even hanging. Ok, the hanging part is a
bit over the top, but the bottom line is that I’m feeling really angry.
Here we have an event - the car flying past me and my being startled (heart
is thumping, breathing is faster), some beliefs - my statements re: that
driver, and a response based on those statements - I’m furious. However,
what if, as I’m driving down the road, I happen to hear on the radio that
there has been a terrible accident and a child has been seriously injured
and that the father is racing to the hospital. And at that moment a car
flies past me at high speed. I’m startled (heart is thumping, breathing is
faster) and my immediate thoughts are “Holy poo! That guy’s flying! Wow, I
wonder if that’s the guy with the injured child. Please Lord let them make
it safely to the hospital and let that child be ok.” Here we have the very
same event, a speeding car and me being startled (heart is thumping,
breathing is faster). But the beliefs, my statements, have changed. Based
on those changed statements, my response, in spite of my thumping heart and
rapid breathing, is something other than anger. In this case it’s a degree
of compassion for a desperate father. See what happened here? In one case I
‘believed’ the driver to be a dangerous lunatic. In the other case, a
desperate father. Same events, different beliefs/dialogs, very different
responses. That’s an example of the event, belief, response (ABC) nature of
how we behave toward *every event* we encounter.
Events can be everything from a speeding car to some physical sensation.
The ABC template is:
A - activating event = a simple, nonjudgmental statement of fact i.e. “I’m
groggy” , “I’m angry”, “I feel like I got a case of the ‘nonspecific
restless crankies’”.
B - belief(s) = the ‘truths’ we attribute to the event, judgments about the
event, ideas as to how to resolve/respond to the event.
C - consequent response = our chosen response based entirely on what we
believe(d) about the event.
To apply this to a quit that’s just starting, we can call the events
“detox discomforts”.
A- I’m feeling the jitters and ‘turned inside out’ sensations of “detox
discomforts”.
B- “In the past, my urge would have been to reach for a cig. According to
my foundation statements I know that a cigarette is not an option I’d
willingly choose. Today I know that what I’m feeling is most likely due to
me being in detox (see Note 1). My best option is to treat the symptoms of
this quit recovery. Eat properly, rest as much as I can, drink fluids (see
Note 2), take time for me, walk or exercise a bit (Note 3), add to my
lists, think about how I’m examining what used to be automatic.”
C- I’ll take a walk, get some fresh air, nibble a carrot stick, maybe think
about an event happening later today and work out some common sense ways to
deal with it.
Notes:
Note 1-The specific sensations I’m feeling are items either for or from
your list of ‘Physical Sensations- where and how’. Whether a quit is CT,
NRT, or some meds, there will be an initial physiological readjustment.
Those associated with nic levels usually level out within 3-4 days.
However, the process of physical recovery from any significant period of
smoking will usually take several months.
Note 2- While drinking water surely isn’t the universal urge solvent that
so many people claim it to be, it does have a place in the early days of a
quit…. keeps us hydrated, helps us feel full so we munch less, helps
flush nic from our bodies.
Note 3- Exercise may be one of the most beneficial things we can do for
ourselves when we quit. Exercise done first thing in the day sets the stage
for the rest of our day. It speeds up our metabolism aiding in weight
control, we feel more energized, it helps combat depression.
An ABC is almost never a one time cure for a day, or an hr, sometimes
not even for 10 minutes. And the reason why is that we humans are
constantly confronted with life in the form of events. We may resolve one
event only to be confronted by another in the next moment. An event of
‘fatigue’ that is resolved in this moment may be back 30 minutes later
needing addressing and resolution yet again and yet again after that. And
this might be how a day would go if we didn’t sleep well or enough the
night before. My point is that the simple act of living through a day means
we spend our waking hrs going through ABCs whether we are conscious of them
or not. With a bit of effort and some practise, we will be very conscious
of both our day and our ABCs. The response (C) of one ABC can be, and
usually is, the event (A) of the next. In this case, if you’re feeling good
about how you just handled a typical moment in detox, you’ll carry that
‘attitude’ into the next moment and maybe into the next event. Use the
above sample detox ABC. See if you can adapt it to some of what you’re
experiencing today. Add your own touch to it. Post and let us know how
you’re doing and/or what questions you have. Even if you aren’t yet quit,
start thinking in ABC terms. You’ll be glad you did.
Steve