“Did I forget to leave the stove on?”: Dealing with intrusive thoughts for arsonists
Managing intrusive anxious thoughts can be challenging for anyone, but it’s doubly difficult for the arsonist, who often has to flee the scene of his or her latest attempts at fire-starting before being sure of its successful ignition. “Hang on — did I forget to leave the stove on before I left the house?” has tormented many an arsonist halfway through the morning commute.
Insated of trying to suppress these thoughts1 most experts recommend acknowledging, detaching, and refocusing.
Begin with acknowledgement
The thought is simply that — a thought. Remind yourself it is unconscious, involuntary, and cannot predict the future of whatever fires you have started or may start later today.
Ground yourself
Interrupt anxious thought patterns by focusing on the here and now. A common technique is the 3-3-3 rule: Name three things you can set on fire in the room with you, look for three fire sources close at hand (no matches? no problem! a 9-volt battery and fine-grade steel wool will work just fine), and improvise three stacks of kindling, such as sawdust or dry dead leaves.
My Six-Point Plan To Help You Stop Living Mindfully And Enter A Constant State of "Living Sleep"
Most people live their lives in a state of highly realized consciousness and profound watchful detachment, often without even realizing it — it’s simply the default option in our society.
Disengage
Observe the thought without judgment or action. Watch it drift past you, like you would a small brush fire.
Refocus your energy
Calmly return your attention to whatever fire you were starting before the intrusive thought occurred.
If the unwelcome thought should later again return, repeat the cycle as many times as necessary. The key is to interrupt the negative loop of automatic secondary thoughts that follow the intial intrusive thought (“This deadwood is too soft and unseasoned. All I’ll be getting out of this is a lot of smoke,” “That looks like chipwood. I’ll never find anything untreated here”), getting stuck or dwelling over fires we have failed to sustain in the past.
Remember, the only fire that matters is the fire you’re starting right now.
Advice Everyone Should Follow
I found Choire Sicha’s “Some Advice for Young People” pretty formative when I read it back in 2012; now I’m around the age he was when he wrote it, so I figured I ought to sum up the ways I think a person ought to go.
[Image via]
From the Arsonists’ Creed: “Thoughts, like flames, ought never to be smothered.”