Stanley H. Block - Mind-Body Workbook for Addiction: Effective Tools for Substance-Abuse Recovery and Relapse Prevention

CHAPTER 2

Discover, Experience, and Apply

• Discover how requirements ignite your cravings and urges.
• Experience how your requirements are triggered.
• Apply your recovery tools in your daily life.

Mind-Body Language

• Requirements: Thoughts made into mental rules by your I-System that tell how you and the world should be in each moment. When your I-System rules are not met, you become filled with body tension and troubling thoughts. Unmet requirements will always put you in the addicted mode.
• Recognize requirements: When you become clearly aware that your requirementnot the events around youis making your I-System active, you curtail the activity of your I-System and begin self-healing in a natural functioning state.

A lot of systems regulate our bodies. For instance, we have a system that regulates our temperature, keeping the body at around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If our temperature goes up, we sweat, and if it goes down, we shiver, as our system tries to get back to the bodys normal temperature. In the same way, we all have an I-System. It works like the system that regulates our temperature, but instead of an ideal temperature, the I-System creates an ideal picture (requirement) of how you and the world should be. Each moment, both systems sense whether their requirements are met. When the requirement of the system that regulates temperature is not fulfilled, we shiver or sweat. When something comes up that doesnt fulfill the I-System requirement, our I-System becomes active: our body gets tense, our mind becomes cluttered, and we enter the addictive mode. The natural state of the I-System is to rest. Its only turned on when requirements are unfulfilled. Remember, requirements are rules that your I-System has created for you about how you and the world should be at any moment; for example, I should be able to control my cravings; I shouldnt have negative thoughts; My partner should be more understanding.

Its vital to know the difference between thoughts that are natural expectations and those that are captured by the I-System and made into requirements. All thoughts are natural and start free of the I-Systems influence. Its not a thoughts content but what happens to the thought that makes it a requirement. For example, I dont like it when my boss criticizes me is a thought or expectation you may naturally have. The I-System works by taking that natural thought and creating an ideal picture of how you and the world should be (People should not criticize each other). To do that, it takes the natural expectation and turns it into a requirement: My boss should not criticize me. You can tell its a requirement because you have excess body tension and mental stress whenever the situation (your boss criticizing you) violates the rule or demand of the requirement. When a thought is not a requirement, you still have your natural expectation, but your mind is clear, your body is relaxed, and your true self is in charge. You now deal more effectively with anything that may come up.

Its crucial to continually recognize whether or not your I-System is active, and its important to notice that whenever the I-System captures a natural thought or expectation and makes it into a requirement, you become a victim of circumstances because your ability to act freely is handicapped. This chapter gives you the tools to quiet your I-System, regain your natural functioning, and heal from your addiction.

Its time to start mapping your I-System requirements. Remember that the two-part mind-body maps are short written exercises that take only a few minutes. Theyre vivid pictures of your thoughts and body tension. Every two-part map you create makes you more aware of your requirements, reduces control by your I-System, and helps you manage high-risk situations.

This mapping exercise is a powerful way to uncover requirements that sap your ability to live your best life. Do a How My World Should Be map (see the following sample map). Take a few minutes to write around the oval any thoughts that you have about how your everyday world should be; for example, My partner should understand what I am going through, or I shouldnt be afraid, or I should have more money. Be specific and work quickly, without editing your thoughts. See the example map.

1. Do you think everything on your map will happen? Yes ___________ No ___________
2. In this chart, write down each thought and describe your body tension when you realized that it might not happen.

   

3. The body tension you listed is a sign that the thought is a requirement and has activated your I-System. Place a check mark in the third column to indicate that the particular thought is a requirement.

We all have natural thoughts about how the world should be. When your I-System takes hold of these thoughts and you see that they might not happen, your body tenses and your mind gets cluttered. This sets the stage for you to move into an addicted mode.

Remember, thoughts that turn on your I-System are requirements. In the previous example, take the thought My family should accept me. When you have the thought My family should accept me as I am, your stomach churns, your heart pounds, and your thoughts spin. This means you have the requirement My family should accept me as I am, and your requirement is interfering with your natural ability to cope with that situation in a healthy way. If your I-System hadnt captured that thought, it would have remained a natural expectation. You would then relate to your family with a relaxed body and a clear mind, whether or not your family accepted you. For the other thought listed as an example (I should wash my car), you have minimal body tension when reality doesnt match that thought. In this case, your I-System is not triggered, so the thought I should wash my car isnt a requirement; its a natural thought. It means that youll still have a relaxed body and a clear mind whether or not you wash your car.

Now youll use the bridging awareness practices you learned in chapter 1 and do a How My World Should Be map again. Before you start writing, listen to any background sounds, experience your bodys pressure on your seat, sense your feet on the floor, and feel the pen in your hand. Take your time. Once you feel settled, keep feeling the pen in your hand and start writing about how your world should be. Watch the ink go onto the paper, and listen to any background sounds. For the next few minutes, jot down whatever comes to mind about how the world should be.

1. What are the differences between this map and the previous map?

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2. Do you see that you can face your world as it is, without having the extra pressure of your I-System, as is shown on the previous map you made? Yes ___________ No ___________