Depression and the ironic effects of thought suppression: Therapeutic strategies for improving mental control.
Abstract
Research indicates that depressed individuals are especially likely to engage in thought suppression in an attempt to achieve mental control over the thoughts that threaten their emotional well-being. In this report, we examine the process and problems of thought suppression and offer several strategies designed to enhance mental control. Strategies that improve mental control increase the availability and accessibility of effective distractions and optimize mental resources. Mental control can also be improved by reducing the number of unwanted negative thoughts (e.g., via cognitive therapy) and by using alternative strategies to thought suppression (e.g., acceptance-based strategies). An understanding of the counterproductive aspects of thought suppression and the identification of more effective alternatives can offer new insights into the cognitive factors that may contribute to depression and those that help to alleviate it.
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Suppressing thoughts and emotions, which often comes with attempts to change thoughts, typically leads to a paradoxical increase, rather than a decrease, of thoughts and emotions.
“suppressing thoughts and emotions, which often comes with attempts to change thoughts, typically leads to a paradoxical increase, rather than a decrease of thoughts and emotions (Beevers, Wenzlaff, Hayes, & Scott, 1999;Dalgleish, Yiend, Schweizer, & Dunn, 2009).”
From When ‘negativity’ becomes obstructive: a novel exploration of the two-factor model of the Self-Compassion Scale and a comparison of self-compassion and self-criticism interventions (2020) · cites this paper as Beevers et al., 1999
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“The findings relate to previously explored literature, where predictions were based on the assumption of suppression and the paradoxical effect (Beevers et al., 1999; Marcks & Woods, 2005; Dalgleish et al., 2009) of “over-identifying”, but the reality is that there should have been more significant findings.”
Result
- Authors
- Beevers, C. G., Wenzlaff, R. M., Hayes, A. M., & Scott, W. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Miami (US)
- The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice
- Published
- 1999
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 133-148
- ISSN
- 0969-5893 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2850
- OpenAlex
- W2111194363
- Cited by
- 116
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 6.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Science and Practice (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Keywords
- thought suppression, depression, ironic effects, mental control, cognitive therapy, distraction, cognitive resources
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