The Ultimate Guide to What is Cognitive Dissonance: Its Impact on Mental Health and Positive and Negative Choices

In the face of temptation (problematic desires), we need to dispute rationally our distorted reasoning and the judgments that follow. After all, it takes only a single moment of weakness during a high-risk situation for a recovering addict to reconsider drug use and relapse. Friends and relatives who learn that an addict holds a negative view of drug (or behavior) and is motivated to quit may be surprised to learn of a sudden shift in preference for the drug.

The Hidden Brain’s Role in Perpetuating Cognitive Dissonance

Laughing at an offensive joke to fit in with a group, despite personally finding it distasteful, can create a conflict between one’s actions and beliefs. Similarly, engaging in harmful behaviors, such as smoking, and later learning about their negative https://insightsecurity.cl/feeling-like-being-sober-sucks-12-tips-for-feeling/ effects can lead to cognitive dissonance as new information conflicts with existing beliefs. Once a reduction strategy is implemented, the individual’s response will feed back into the initial interpretation of the situation and a new evaluation will take place.

How to Know If You’re Ready for a Mental Health Retreat

• “All of us — and I mean all of us — have something we have dissonant beliefs and behaviors about,” says Alauna Curry, MD, a trauma psychiatrist based in Houston.
• In psychotherapy, clients often confront dissonance when they face aspects of themselves or their lives that don’t align with their self-image or values.
• Developing a better understanding of your priorities can help you identify and correct internal conflicts.
• Cognitive dissonance therapy can help resolve this conflict, leading to a more balanced and positive self-view.
• Therapists provide tools and coping mechanisms to manage conflicting thoughts and emotions, fostering a more coherent mindset.

These mental health professionals often use the Socratic method (open-ended questioning) and may accelerate the process through hypnotherapy in some cases. An RLT therapist may ask you questions designed to help you cognitive dissonance and addiction understand important aspects of situations, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Ultimately, they may aim to guide you to discover for yourself that you can manage your emotions by changing your thoughts. With this newfound knowledge, you may be ready to make the necessary changes to achieve mental harmony.

• She is also the the Co-Host of the popular Elevate Experience Podcast, a no-holds-barred look at addiction and the power of effective treatment.
• Cognitive dissonance can have many different causes, including addiction, a desire to meet the expectations of others, fear of change, and trauma.
• As most cognitive dissonance paradigms are likely to induce other emotions, it may be more pertinent to distinctively assess the nature of the psychological discomfort involved in the CDS.
• They can come up with a revised dream on their own, and simply try it out the next time they go to sleep.
• Cognitive dissonance can happen in just about any area of your life and occurs when your current behavior contradicts one of your beliefs.

Who May Experience Cognitive Dissonance?

Well, cognitive dissonance is like the brain’s way of saying, Alcoholics Anonymous “Hey, something’s not adding up here! ” It’s that feeling when you realize your beliefs, attitudes, or values are having a bit of a disagreement party inside your head. Psychological discomfort that sets off an internal alarm, urging you to restore some order and consistency.