your own thoughts attacking you

Status
Not open for further replies.

keannu

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
I chose 2 as the answer, which made me stupid, and this passage is really hard to understand as "thought attack" is a very rare concept to me. I think the idea is that we seem to see things bigger than they really are, exaggerating them, so this can ruin our relationship. If you any other opinion, please let me know.

Q.What is the best title for this passage?
1. Stop rehearsing unhappiness. 2. Don't fight over stupid things.
st225) Kelly is driving to see her boyfriend. A memory comes to mind of an argument they had a few weeks ago. As she remembers the incident, she "plays it out again," almost as if it were happening right there in the car. She realizes that her boyfriend was being unnecessarily stubborn, maybe even a little mean. Doubt begins to creep into her mind. Within a matter of minutes she's a little angry, as she thinks to herself, "He'd better not do that again tonight." By the time she arrives at his apartment, she's feeling slightly distant; nothing horrible, but enough to make a difference in the way she feels about the evening and about her relationship.
We refer to this type of inner dialogue as a "thought attack" because, in a sense, that's what it really is ─ your own thoughts attacking you. We say it's tricky because, for the most part, you're not even aware that you're doing it. Thoughts like these happen so quickly, and so often, that most of us don't even realize what's happening. And that's the real problem! We get lost in our thoughts in much the same way that we might get lost in a movie or in a good book. At times, like Kelly, most of us mistake a few negative thoughts for a serious problem in our relationship. Consequently, rather than dismissing the thoughts and responding to each moment as it arrives, we instead take our self-created frustration on our partner as if he or she were the real problem. And while it's possible there is a real problem, our minds have a way of blowing things out of proportion
 

Grumpy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
First of all, whoever set the question needs some more lessons in English. Since there were only two choices, the question should have referred to the "better", rather than the "best" title.

Don't beat yourself up about choosing the title you did. It certainly doesn't make you stupid, and I must say that I had never heard of the concept of "thought attacks" either - although I recognise the truth and common sense of what has been written. I think your understanding of the concept is correct.
In my experience, some people are more more susceptible to this sort of thing than others, letting recurring memories of a relatively insignificant event from the past colour their whole future outlook. They tend to "see their glass half empty". My wife tells me that I am a hopeless optimist; I always "look on the bright side", or "see my glass half full".

That's not to say that I'm not throughly grumpy most of the time.......
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top