SUMMARY

Four Ways to Gain Perspective on Negative Events

By Amy L. Eva | September 12, 2017

Self-distancing is technique to reflect on difficult circumstances without finding ourselves

tossed around in an emotional spin cycle. A self-distanced perspective features the ability to
take a step back and view yourself more objectively.

The benefits of self-distancing are:

- Make better sense of their reactions
- Experience less emotional distress
- Display fewer physiological signs of stress
- Experience reduced reactivity when remembering the same problematic event weeks or
months later.
- Less vulnerable to recurring thoughts (or rumination).
- reduction in aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, and aggressive behavior
- Increase in executive functioning, and the ability to better manage relationship conflicts.

There are four simple techniques for “self-distancing,” a research-tested way to break cycles of
rumination and recrimination.
1. Visualize an observer
Results from a recent study also revealed the power of mentally injecting a model (or
exemplar) into the difficult context.
2. Avoid using the pronoun “I”
Focus on using third-person pronouns—he, she, they—when engaging in self-talk. This
simple shift in language may be the most helpful form of self-distancing.
3. Write about it
Create a personally meaningful narrative that helps you to “step back” and make sense
of a negative event
4. Focus on your future self
A new area of research in self-distancing explores the power of temporal distancing. Ask
yourself, “How would I feel about this one week from now or ten years from now?” This
form of mental time travel may be effective because our attention is directed away from
our immediate, concrete circumstances. A simple awareness of the passage of time may
also support our emotional recovery.
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Paragraph 1 & 2 of Four Ways to Gain Perspective on Negative Events
By Amy L. Eva | September 12, 2017

What is Self-distancing and why we need to master it?

Actually we can not see ourself objectively when we are caught up in all of the emotionally. We
use self-distanced perspective to out of our “common” self to be an another self, and it makes
us seeing more objective of ourself.
Self-distanced perspective not only makes people, who adopt it, feel better sense of reaction,
decrease emotional distress, and display fewer physicological signs of stress but also decreas
excessive reactivity in facing same problem in the feature.