We are curious about “cognitive-bias modification”. Researchers have found that focusing (noticing, analyzing, ruminating) on threatening or negative events leads people to see the world in less positive ways. In particular they appear to be more pessimistic and have difficulty seeing potential positive outcomes.
In other words, if you notice the frowning faces on the street instead of the smiling face, it likely that you will believe that the world is a dangerous place. Walking around with this perception is stressful as it induces a chronic flight-fight response to the daily stressors of life.
We are all biased. We all have our slant on the world which is based on our biology and life experiences and lessons learned. It appears that some people may maintain thought patterns that support an anxious or depressive way of relating to the world around them. Researchers have been working on finding techniques to shape and even alter these biases and help people have a different view of the world.
Colin MacLeod of the University of Western Australia found ways to shift attentional habits. He trained subjects to avoid looking at threats (scary words or picture of menacing faces) and found that it was more effective than placebo at reducing symptoms of clinical anxiety disorder. Similarly, one of the strongest predictor of relapse to depressive disorders are negative cognitive biases. Researchers have found that focusing on smiling faces reduces the number of negative, downward focused responses to a questionnaire.
How might this help with substance use disorders? Researchers at the University of Amsterdam (Reinout Wiers) have examined people with alcohol use disorders. Specifically he gave them a joystick and encouraged them to push or pull images of beverages on a screen (alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages like soda). People who pushed back alcoholic drinks and pulled in other options were significantly less like to have relapsed than people who had pushed and pulled an equal numbers of both types of drinks.
We wonder if in vivo exposure to triggers is likely to mimic these results. Actively practicing pushing away or ignoring substances of choice (and other triggers) and practice choosing other options may be a way to strengthen outcomes of CBT therapy for substance use disorders.