How to learn to abstract yourself

Staying calm and focused is not easy. Crowds of people, cars, noisy streets, crowded shops, loud conversations, obsessive thoughts, problems, anxieties... This not only interferes with maintaining mental and emotional balance, but also causes negative emotions. What can we do to keep negative experiences out of our minds and stay focused on what is important to us? The best way is to abstract ourselves from everything that disturbs our peace and irritates us.

But what does it mean to abstract? How to abstract yourself? What benefits can this bring? What could be wrong with not being able to do this? We will try to answer these questions in the article.

Abstraction: what is it and what is it for?

The term "abstraction" comes from the Latin word "abstractio" and means "distraction". In psychology, distraction most often means not a change in activity, as one might think, but a change in thinking. The point is that by abstracting oneself, a person begins to look at things from a new perspective.

The human brain is accustomed to perceiving everything (phenomena, events, people, situations, etc.), generalizing its ideas about what it perceives, without dividing them into individual elements. And if we answer the question “What does it mean to abstract?” precisely in a psychological context, this means mentally moving away from what is happening in order to allow your nervous system to rest and recover, to get rid of the negative influence of irritating factors, to analyze the situation and look at it impartially.

You can abstract from sounds (noise), from negative experiences, from emotions and even from the outside world. And this can be learned, and for this you do not need to make any Herculean efforts.

The ability to abstraction helps in many life situations, in particular when it is necessary to get certain thoughts out of your head, move away from surging emotions, discard unnecessary things, and understand the essence of a problem or situation. We may be stressed by the behavior of another person or - a classic of the genre - the noise of a neighbor's drill on a sweet Saturday morning; we may be indignant about events at work or somewhere on the street. Giving in to our feelings, we easily forget about the main thing, lose sight of something important, and lose motivation. And the ability to mentally discard all the husks helps us remain in ourselves and ourselves.

With the help of the skill of abstraction, everyone can better determine their desires and goals and find ways to achieve them, understand what they need at the current moment in time and in life in general, effectively get rid of distractions and negativity, concentrate and manage their attention, improve intellectual activity and even speed it up.

We think that it would not be superfluous to talk about what the inability to abstract can lead to. First of all, it is depression, associated with a constant feeling of anxiety and fear caused by problems and stress. It's also stress itself. It tends to accumulate, and if a person does not know how to give his psyche a rest, the load on it seriously increases. This depletes energy reserves on both the physical and mental levels.

Low self-esteem is another consequence of the inability to abstract. Inability to concentrate and indulging in one's emotions often lead to wrong conclusions, actions and decisions. This in turn causes regret and guilt, which lowers self-esteem. And with low self-esteem, as you know, it is very difficult to live a rich and happy life.

On top of that, not knowing how to abstract yourself has an impact on a person’s relationships with others. Any communication is an exchange of information, emotions and energy, and not always positive, useful and mutually beneficial. And if a person is unable to protect himself from the destructive influence of another and provocations, it becomes very easy to manipulate him.

As you yourself have already perfectly understood, the ability to abstract is a powerful defense mechanism. But, of course, it is also an effective tool in the fight against distraction, procrastination, lack of time, and poor life and professional results. And here's another little explanation of what abstraction is, from Khan Academy.

Now let's move on to practice. And we will start with how to abstract from the manifestations of the surrounding reality in general.

What are the benefits of abstract concepts and thinking?

The general concept of abstraction adopted in science does not reveal the practical benefits of this phenomenon at all. Meanwhile, it is necessary for the development of a person’s mental capabilities. For example, it is with the help of abstractions and their comparisons that children begin to understand the world.

Abstract concepts are an integral part of people’s mental activity. They contribute to the disclosure of connections and relationships between phenomena, objects, elements, and concepts. With the help of abstract thinking, people synthesize existing ideas and form new types of relationships and relationships between the objects under consideration, thereby developing their own consciousness.

That is, with the help of distraction, human cognitive and mental activity progresses.

In addition, abstractions are inextricably linked to language skills. Toddlers learn to speak using this type of thinking.

How to abstract yourself from the outside world

Anyone can learn to abstract themselves. You yourself have already done this more than once, albeit unconsciously. Remember if there were similar situations in your life:

Your friend is telling you something, and meanwhile you are thinking about the girl you met in the minibus this morning
There is an important meeting at work, and you have your head in the clouds, looking forward to your upcoming vacation.
At home, someone expresses dissatisfaction with you, and you, without paying any attention to it, read an interesting book or watch an exciting film

Surely you have encountered something like this. And this just means that you already know how to abstract yourself. But if earlier you did this automatically, now you can begin to distract yourself from the world around you on purpose, and at the moment when you need it.

The first thing you will have to master in order to learn to abstract yourself from the negative manifestations of the outside world will be controlling your thoughts. There is a simple algorithm for this:

Exhale
Start counting slowly to ten
For each count, take one slow inhale and one slow exhale.
While concentrating on your breathing, pay attention to your thoughts and breathe them out.

To enhance the effect of the technique, you can look at something. For example, you are standing in line at a store, and two other customers are arguing next to you. Do the above steps and look at what is happening outside the window, take a look at the interior of the store, and concentrate on what actions the cashier performs while serving the customer. If you can play your favorite music, do it. This breathing technique can be used in any situation.

Always remember that, abstracting from the outside world, you need to try to maintain a positive attitude and not succumb to emerging negative emotions. This means that any circumstances, situations, events and people should be looked at from a different perspective. Here are just a few possible points of view:

You may be exaggerating and giving too much importance to circumstances.
Perhaps there is some personal benefit specifically for you in the current situation, and you just need to see it
Perhaps if things had gone the way you wanted, you would have faced more serious problems
You may fall into the habit of reacting negatively when something goes against your expectations.

By looking at what is happening from this position, you can easily abstract yourself from the outside world and focus on positive thoughts and/or solving specific issues. In addition, you will have more energy and strength, and life will seem better and easier.

In addition to the proposed technique of abstracting from the outside world, you can use meditation. It improves concentration and is wonderfully relaxing. It is best to meditate at home when you want to be alone with yourself, forget about everything and everyone, and organize your thoughts. But in general, you can meditate on the street, on public transport, and even at work. We talked in detail about meditation in our article “Tips for proper meditation.”

Also, activities such as walking, watching movies, meeting with friends, shopping, concentrating on specific activities, contemplating works of art, nature, etc. will help you to abstract yourself from the outside world. Also, so that no one “gets” you, we recommend turning off all your gadgets from time to time.

But manifestations of the external world are often expressed specifically in annoying noises and sounds - this is one of the most common phenomena that interfere with concentration and cause negative emotions. Next we will tell you how to abstract yourself from them.

Forms of abstract thinking

Abstract thinking can take three forms: concept, judgment and inference. Usually, when thinking abstractly, a person consistently uses all three forms. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Concept. This is a generalized abstraction that describes a specific object or phenomenon, but does not indicate a specific object or event. Examples of concepts: person (an abstract person, not a concrete individual), house, dog
Judgment. This is a certain statement containing information about the property of a certain object. Judgments are divided into true and false, as well as simple and complex. A simple statement indicates a single fact, while a complex statement may describe a pattern or cause-and-effect relationship. For example, the proposition “The grass is green” is simple and true, while the proposition “We don’t slide off the Earth because it is flat” is complex and false.
Conclusion. An inference is a new judgment formulated on the basis of several others. It is the result of rational knowledge (that is, it was not obtained empirically). An example of an inference based on two judgments: “In the morning there were candies in this vase” + “Now the vase is empty” → “Someone ate all the candies.”

How to abstract yourself from noise and sounds

It has been scientifically proven that 1 billion impulses enter the human brain every second. The brain, of course, can filter out a lot of unnecessary data, but about a hundred signals will still be recorded by it. And most of the information comes to us in audio form, and it is not surprising that noises and sounds are constantly distracting and make us “twitch.”

The following recommendations will help you learn to ignore noise and sounds:

Distractibility and irritability are seriously affected by fatigue and hunger. If you are hungry or overwhelmed from work, even the slightest noise will cause indignation and a desire to cover your ears. To prevent this, you need, at a minimum, to get a good night's sleep, eat normally and regularly, and rest during the working day and on weekends.
If the cacophony finds you in a place where you can leave, we advise you not to delay and just change the place. In general, it is best to choose places to work and live where there is not a lot of noise. For example, life near a forest or the sea and life near a railway or airport are two qualitatively different things. If you are a freelancer, you can sometimes work in a library, in a park, or in nature.
To prevent extraneous sounds from annoying you, if possible, avoid crowds of people, noisy streets, highways, and public transport. Of course, it won’t be possible to completely eliminate this from life, but from time to time you still need to enjoy peace and quiet. Don’t forget that the breathing technique we’ve already talked about also helps to abstract yourself from sounds.
When it is impossible to exclude the source of extraneous sounds, you should try to drown it out with your own noise. At home - speakers, on the street - a player, in the car - a speaker system - music is a great distraction from annoying sounds. By the way, if you want to relax, New Age, ambient, ethnic music, trance and, of course, classics are best suited. Listening to this kind of music will help you maintain your ability to think and continue to work.
When listening to music is not an option, you can simply wear special noise-cancelling headphones or even insert earplugs into your ears. Even at work, this technique is applicable if you clearly explain to your superiors and colleagues why you are doing this. And when the noise endlessly plagues the house and no changes in the situation are expected, it makes sense to resort to drastic measures - install double-glazed windows, stick soundproofing panels on the walls.
You can abstract from noise using your imagination. Thought processes perfectly suppress negative reactions of consciousness. You can start to visualize something - imagine (learn how to develop the power of visualization). For example, when you are at home, and some equipment is working loudly outside, lie down on the sofa for ten minutes, and imagine in every detail how you are lying on the sand on the seashore, and the only thing you hear is the sound of the waves.

And another good way to learn to abstract yourself from sounds is to master the skill of not paying attention to background noise. If you begin to deliberately get used to any sounds, over time it will be easy not to pay attention to them. Play a video while working or reading and try to focus on what you are doing. If you're getting ready for a session and your neighbor keeps hammering nails into the wall, don't run away from it - instead, focus on the sound for a while and then continue learning the material.

Note that this skill will be useful to you always and everywhere, because you don’t know when and where the noise will catch you again. On top of that, absolute silence can have a depressing effect on the psyche. If you hear nothing at all, you will become distracted by the absence of sounds.

Now let's move on to the most important issue - negativity, negative emotions and obsessive thoughts. If it is quite easy to abstract yourself from the outside world and noise, then it is much more difficult to distract yourself from what is happening inside.

What is it for

Experts are confident that a person is able to fully control his own body. Psychoanalyst Makarov says that it has been repeatedly noticed how such exercises can alleviate the severity of chronic diseases, reduce pain syndromes during menstruation, headaches, lower high blood pressure, and normalize the heart rate. Ethnopsychologist Zhukov believes that self-immersion allows you to take control of feelings and needs, and thereby enable a person’s hidden capabilities that contribute to self-healing.

Physician Frederick Rosenfeld says that the health benefits of relaxation practices are not an end in themselves. He claims that the beneficial effects are aimed at reducing anxiety, tension during stress, helps with depression, phobias and improves immunity.

How to abstract yourself from emotions

The most important thing when distracting from emotions is to learn to abstract from the negative. Considering that negative emotions often have greater momentum and power than positive ones, you first need to be able to work with them (by the way, here are ten useful thoughts about negative thinking). There are different ways to do this, but the most effective ones include the following:

Ignoring bad and negative thoughts
Ignoring irritation
Remembering good events
Switching attention
Self-soothing
Thoughts about gaining experience that will be useful in the future
Adequate perception of what is happening
Mindfulness

We think that these methods do not require any special explanation. It is better to pay more attention to the following tips.

Embrace life

Try to perceive everything as it is. People, situations, events - all this can be different. Life cannot be called flawless and ideal (sometimes fair), but everything that is given to us is for the good. It is impossible to control everything, you need to understand this. The sooner you do this, the calmer and easier you will become. Be philosophical about failures and negativity.

Look at things philosophically

The philosophical perception of life is that, firstly, you accept the fact that white and black stripes will always alternate, and secondly, you analyze everything that happens, draw certain conclusions and simply let go of what you don’t care about. like. This is to abstract yourself from negativity and emotions. Any experience is useful and necessary, and if you look at situations from different angles, analyzing them into their components, you will be able to quickly understand the essence of things and avoid mistakes in the future.

Be imperfect

There is no one perfect, there is not a single absolutely flawless and ideal person. And this applies not only to those around you, but also to yourself. If you take this for granted, life will become much easier, events will be perceived more easily, and negativity will no longer cause worries. Adequately evaluate yourself and others, give up anger - there is nothing so important that it would be worth your suffering.

Enjoy life

You can abstract yourself from the negative only through the positive. Strive to see the positive sides in everything, live every moment as if it were your last, take every day with joy and a smile. You can get pleasure from any thing. Even while sitting at home and doing nothing, thank life for what you can see, hear, breathe, and communicate with loved ones. Thank life for the fact that you live at all, and remember that someday you too will be gone. Are your current problems important in the face of death?

Put things off

If you feel like you’re about to lose your temper, that you can’t bear to work or do something, abstract yourself from your emotions and simply put aside work. Move things forward for half an hour, for two hours, for tomorrow. Instead, do something you love, take a walk, sleep. Distraction helps you cool down and shift your attention to positive thoughts. If something isn't working out for you, stepping away from it can help you find a new way to solve the problem. In addition, more does not always mean better - you can miss details, make mistakes, get overtired and generally get sick. Distribute the load optimally and there will be more achievements in your life.

Drive away bad thoughts

Even when nothing bad happens, you may think bad thoughts. Irrational fears and concerns are easily overcome when you begin to rethink them and understand their reasons. Once you realize that your anxiety has no explainable cause, disengaging from it won't be such a big problem. If there really is a reason, think about how to resolve the situation. Any fears disappear as soon as a person begins to look them in the eye.

Take it simpler

Many people complicate things, thereby worsening their mental and emotional state. But everything, absolutely everything, can be looked at more simply. Consciousness is simply accustomed to reacting negatively to certain things, but if you think about them, they may not be worth a damn. Is the boss shouting? Let him scream to himself - let him try to boil water with his scream. Bad grade in class? And God bless her - with this mark - tomorrow there will be an A. Quarreled with your spouse? And so what - the dear ones scold - they’re just amusing themselves. Not enough money? And when were they enough? And happiness is not in money, and not even in its quantity. Any situation can be simplified and even turned into a pun. And this is a great way to abstract yourself from negativity.

Become kinder

Have you noticed that good people do well? They may have troubles, they may have problems, they may have hardships - but they are doing well. Being kind is very useful, but kindness should not only be shown towards babies or kittens. You need to be kind to events, situations, and other people, including those who are “negative” towards you. Try to perceive everything as if you are truly a holy person. Ask yourself, how would St. Nicholas the Wonderworker perceive this? You'll see - awareness will instantly turn on, the brain itself will tell you how to behave, and abstraction will become much easier. And by being kinder, you will begin to attract good people, good events, and good news into your life.

Learn to concentrate

The ability to abstract from the bad is the skill of concentrating on the good. Everything here is extremely simple: do not pay attention to what hurts your feelings, what makes your blood boil, what makes you angry. Instead, remember the faces of your loved ones, focus on funny things that happened during the day, and mentally draw pictures from jokes. Do anything that can be associated with joy, hope, good sadness, happiness, love and other positive emotions. You can read about how to improve your ability to concentrate in our article “Simple Ways to Increase Concentration.”

Control the Positive

It may sound strange, but you still need to be able to abstract yourself from both negative and positive emotions. If you always have your head in the clouds and look at the world through rose-colored glasses, at one point you might end up hitting the ground. Rejoice, laugh, sing songs, be happy, but understand that these states are destined to end, because you will waste your energy, and they will lose their intensity. As with everything, there must be moderation here too. And the best way to rejoice is to be grateful to life and switch your attention to business and worries. Such is the human psyche - soaring on the wings of happiness, it is easy to lose vigilance, forget yourself, and not have time to do something important. Keep this in mind and maintain balance and harmony within yourself.

And in conclusion, I would just like to note that abstracting from the outside world, noises and sounds, negative emotions and experiences is always helped by the development of useful skills and qualities for life, such as awareness, self-confidence, inner peace, concentration, gratitude.

Be sure to make plans, motivate yourself, strive for new goals and achievements, read interesting and educational books, meditate and relax, develop healthy habits for life. Having filled your life with these things, you can abstract from anything easily and naturally.

And to bring a little more positivity inside yourself, watch this wonderful video from the famous TV presenter and Comedy Club resident Pavel Volya. We wish you happiness and the ability to remain yourself always and everywhere.

We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
Best Blog Content of 2022: Time Management and Productivity
Verbal signs of lying
Emotions and health: how they are interconnected
How to forgive an offense and is it always necessary to do this?
The harm and benefits of negative thinking
10 signs of an unconscious life
Psychic reflection
Mastery of Self-Control
Self-control: what it is and how to develop it
How to restore mental health after harassment?

Key words:1Cognitive science

Stress due to a lot of work

People of various professions often suffer emotionally from work not completed on time, lack of strength and internal resources to achieve the expected success and advance up the career ladder. What to do, how to learn not to worry about work?

Stop getting distracted by little things

Clean up your workspace and office in general. Remove all unnecessary items and put folders and other work tools in their places.
Organize your workspace as clearly as possible so that you can quickly find the necessary documents or other items to complete your work tasks.

Let's get away from the turmoil

Psychologists advise setting aside 10-15 minutes a day at work (possibly after lunch) or during a break between tasks. At this time, try to find a secluded place, do not communicate with people, sit in silence, and put your thoughts in order.

BY THE WAY! It is strictly not recommended to use this time for telephone conversations, conversations with colleagues, reading emails, or finishing projects.

Overtime - only 1 day a week!

You should not stay at your workplace every day after the end of the working day and pull up all your tails. It is enough to set aside one day for this and work it to the maximum.

Firstly, on other days you will come home from work on time and have a good rest, have time to complete household chores, and communicate with your children.
Secondly, you will clearly know that there is only one day that is busy for you. It will be easier to plan the whole week and postpone all tasks that require additional time to this day.

IMPORTANT! To have time to do everything, you need to rebuild your consciousness. Focus on organization and time planning, the ability to distribute all tasks and projects according to their importance.

If you are overworked, it would be a good idea to ask your colleagues or administrator for help. But provided that you yourself help when they turn to you.

Formation of emotional state

The word “abstract” can be used to create an emotional and complete story in your imagination. For example, you can imagine how a child receives a diploma from a prestigious university, or, say, diving into the waters of the warm Mediterranean sea. To do this, you just need to learn to abstract yourself.

This ability to distract from details and concentrate on the main thing will help you move towards achieving your cherished goal. However, emotions and love for fairy tales do not determine everything. Smart adults choose for themselves which fantasy and events they want to live in, and when to leave the world of dreams and enter reality.

Change your attitude towards a person

You have a colleague who constantly argues, expresses her opinion and gives unnecessary advice. It is within your power to learn to cope with your inner negativity. Start to perceive communication with her as a challenge, as a test. Where else can you get such great practice? After all, you cannot learn to deal with your aggression and irritation until you experience them.

It is communication with this lady that will be your field for gaining experience. Learn to work with your inner feelings and experiences. Understand what exactly you are experiencing: anger, resentment, irritation, aggression, and so on. And then start working with your feelings.