There are several types of conditioning. There is Classical Conditioning which was introduced to us by Pavlov (1927) which is pure Classical conditioning demonstrating how we can make associations through conditioning. (A baby associates breasts with food and nourishment. When it sees a breast, it thinks of food) There is also “Operant Conditioning” first introduced by the Behaviorist BF Skinner, where he describes how we can become conditioned to learn certain behaviors. These two types of conditioning can be a very positive influence on our lives because we learn about behavior, good from bad, reward and punishment. However, this is not exactly the type of conditioning I am referring to here and in the module on Conditioning. I am now referring to the many ways we are negatively conditioned to believe certain things about ourselves, others and the world, and how this type of conditioning can be harmful to our mental and emotional well-being. This type of conditioning often has a negative influence on our lives; in fact if you suffer from depression or anxiety related problems, this type of conditioning can have a highly detrimental effect on your life.
From the moment we are born the process of conditioning begins. As we get older and gather up our experiences, so we become more conditioned. It happens to us unconsciously and for much of the time we don’t even realize it’s happening. It’s so much a part of our being we simply gather it up along the way as part of who we are.
What does it mean to be conditioned? In relation to CBT, depression, anxiety and stress related problems conditioning can be a real problem. If we are not consciously aware and don’t recognize our conditioning, we can’t change it and because it often dictates how we think, feel, go about our lives it becomes important to understand the type of damage it can be responsible for.
When we are conditioned to think negatively or we condition ourselves to think negatively, we are also in danger of harming our mental and emotional well-being.
For this reason, especially if you DO suffer from depression or any stress related problems, it is important to recognize your own negative conditioned habits and do everything in your power to rid yourself of them .
Negative conditioning can be partly responsible for low self esteem, mistaken beliefs about ourselves others and the world around us. It can also shape our thinking in many negative ways. Because of our conditioning we might give erroneous and negative meanings to situations which then become harmful to our well-being.
Unless we start to recognize that negative conditioning can be harming us (because it is dictating our thinking in certain areas)we are likely to remain in the same (conditioned) negative state of mind. We might continue to harm our mental and emotional well-being because negative conditioning leaves little space for clear, rational and conscious thinking.
Let’s say you are conditioned to believe you are worthless. You have been told these words so many times throughout your life and are now conditioned to believe them. What does this do to you and how does it then affect you?
If you believe you are worthless purely because you have been conditioned to believe it, this might trigger a whole set of emotional and psychological reactions for you. It could lead you to have low self esteem, no self belief, feelings of worthlessness, anxiousness, depression and the belief you are not worthy of love, friendship, or relationships.
In the same way you might believe your NAT’s, you might also believe your conditioned thinking even though it may be erroneous.
In trying to understand the concept of conditioning it would seem that the active and conscious thinking process simply passes us by and although we don’t know it, we are no longer in control of our conscious thinking or actions. Rather our conditioning often dictates how we will react mentally and in our behaviour.
Another example might be that you and your partner have a fight. You react to each other; those reactions are more than likely to be conditioned reactions where you are conditioned to react to him, and he is conditioned to react to you. You both blame each other in a conditioned way as you have a thousand times before and you end up in the same negative place because your actions were actually reactions that came about due to your conditioning.
This is certainly not where you want to be, especially if you suffer from depression, or any sort of anxiety related problem. You will want more control over your thinking, not less. How many times a day do you allow your conditioned mind to dictate what and how you think or behave? How many times do you allow your conditioned mind to tell you that you will never get over your depression or anxiety? How many times? The worrying thing is that more often than not you won’t be conscious enough to even realize what you are doing.
Some examples of conditioned behavior are:
- I must be ugly because I have been told this since I was a child
- I can’t do sums so I must be stupid. That’s what people keep telling me.
- No other religion is as good as mine.
- Cream cakes will make me fat
- Men who wear jewelry are gay
- I can’t go for the job because I’m not as good as everyone else
- No one likes overweight people
- Blonds are all air heads
- I’ve been depressed for so long now I will never get rid of it
- I get so anxious at work everyone thinks I’m mad
- I suffer from depression, I must be mad
All the above examples can be conditioned beliefs gathered up with the experience of life. As you see there are thinking errors in each statement but the problem is we rarely stop to consciously think whether what we are conditioned to believe is “fact” or just our conditioning dictating its own reality to us. We would need to question, test and evaluate each statement to find out. None of the above statements are cast in stone. Most are not factual because it is impossible to make sweeping generalizations that are 100% accurate.
We might be told something so many times we become conditioned to believe it’s true. Parents tell children “you are bad” or “you are stupid”. Children bully other children into believing they are fat, ugly, worthless, dirty, and on and on. Teachers, preachers, politicians, TV, the internet, all have their part in our conditioning.
We are constantly sent a million messages about ourselves, others and the world. These messages condition us because often and without thinking allow ourselves to become conditioned.
A problem with conditioning is that when it is negative we can be affected for life. If we are repeatedly told we are stupid, ugly, fat or that we will never make anything of ourselves, we become conditioned and believe it. In turn this can easily affect our self esteem, make us depressed or anxious and may become damaging both psychologically and emotionally.
We can also condition ourselves to believe all sorts of negative things about ourselves, others and the world around us. When we do this we unintentionally harm ourselves. We might repeatedly tell ourselves we are fat, ugly, or that we will never stop feeling depressed or anxious. This constant stream of internal dialogue then turns into conditioned thinking which is bad for anyone’s well-being. It then becomes a belief of ours.
Whether we or others are responsible for conditioning our minds, the outcome will be the same. If I have conditioned myself to believe I will always be depressed, what does this do to me? If I believe it, I will probably become more depressed reinforcing my conditioned belief. I will believe it unless something happens to shake my conditioned belief. In order to intervene, I really need to question such unhealthy, internal dialogue to test its validity, just like I need to test NAT’s. Chances are once I have thoroughly tested it I can break that belief and break that cycle of conditioning. However, I do need to be conscious enough to carry out the exercise in the first place. This is where conscious awareness comes in, and this is why we need to be consciously aware, to look after our own well-being.
Changing conditioned behavior entails a shift from behaving in conditioned way to behaving in conscious ways. It means shifts in thinking whereby we don’t just drift into our automatic conditioned behavior but become far more conscious and focused. It’s about not reacting like robots, rather consciously asking ourselves whether or not we are just reacting to our situation in conditioned way? It means undoing our conditioned behaviors. It’s about transforming our mind and thinking.
If we feel anxious or depressed we might be quite conditioned to believe we are stuck with it for life. We might be conditioned or have conditioned our self to believe depression has no cure or that we will always have panic attacks. Learning that our conditioned beliefs aren’t necessarily accurate and knowing we don’t need to be at their mercy can be quite a revelation that is worth aiming for it’s simply about learning how to transform the mind.
How much does conditioning influence and dictate your life? You need to think about this very carefully and consciously. If you believe you live a life full of conditioned behavior perhaps it’s time for change… How do we bring about this change? Well, firstly it is essential to become consciously aware; then and most importantly, it is vital to question, examine, test and challenge these conditioned thoughts and actions rather than blindly and mindlessly accepting them. Only then will you know enough to either stay with them or ensure you move away from them in a healthy and powerful way. Once you know, you will also know the next step you need to take, to undo it or not?
Now, it’s down to you and the road you chose to take.. Yes it is a choice… your choice….