{"id":749,"date":"2017-03-19T13:31:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-19T13:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/?p=749"},"modified":"2024-02-22T14:54:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T14:54:33","slug":"how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo-one really likes me.\u201d <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m useless.\u201d <\/span>\u201cPeople wouldn\u2019t miss me if I wasn\u2019t here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These are some of the thoughts that go through our minds<\/a> every day. They\u2019re not nice, in fact they\u2019re horrible, and we would never say them to anyone else. Yet, we say them to ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what can we do about it? Well, the aim of this article is to provide you with a simple way of viewing these thoughts differently. This is not about controlling our thoughts or making them go away, it is about changing how we see them. <\/span><\/p>\n

As many have said before me, \u2018thoughts are not facts\u2019 and thinking something doesn’t make it true. By altering the way we think so that we don’t automatically believe everything that goes through our minds, difficult \/painful thoughts lose some of their power and don\u2019t have such an effect on us.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How Can The Daily Mail Be Helpful For Our Mental Health?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

So what has any of this got to do with the Daily Mail? Well, I grew up in a household where the Daily Mail was an ever present. My parents would read it every day and back then, I would too. What I noticed was that often the stories reported were not 100% true (to put it lightly) or seemed to have been completely made up.<\/span><\/p>\n

I quickly learnt to become cynical when reading headlines and to not believe what the news wanted me to. These days, whenever I read the paper, or any news for that matter, I take a more questioning look at it, and wonder how true it really is, or what other part of the story I may be missing. <\/span><\/p>\n

So that made me think, if we look at the news in this curious kind of way, why can\u2019t we do the same with our thoughts? This is what I call the \u2018Daily Mail Brain\u2019 \u2013 where we treat our thoughts as we do the news we read.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"daily-mail-brain\"

The \u2018Daily Mail Brain\u2019 is what I call the idea that we treat our thoughts as we do the news we read.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

How Can We Apply This To Improving Our Mental Health?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to give you an example of when I met with a client recently. They told me that they will often wake up in the morning and just know \u201cit\u2019s going to be a bad day\u201d. More often than not, these days turn out to be bad just like they predicted. Hold that in mind, I\u2019ll come back to it in a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

On a side note, think about the last time you were on the streets. How much rubbish (garbage for my US friends!) did you notice on the road as you walked down it? The chances are that many of you wouldn\u2019t have noticed any at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

One possible explanation for this is because the mind wasn\u2019t looking for it. If I asked you to look out for rubbish next time you were outside, I suspect you would notice a lot more. The issue here is, the mind has an amazing way of finding evidence to support what has been going through it, whether it be the amount of rubbish on the streets, or the kind of day you\u2019re going to have.<\/span><\/p>\n

So back to what my client said. It might be that sometimes she does have a bad day, we all do.<\/span><\/p>\n

But at other times it might be that the Daily Mail Brain is looking out for evidence to prove that the thought \u201cit\u2019s going to be a bad day\u201d is true. The Daily Mail Brain is trying to sell its story to you and so will grab any evidence it can to make you believe that what you are thinking is true.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What Is The Take Home Message Here?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

So you may be wondering, how can I use this in my daily life? Well, the take home message here is, don\u2019t always buy in to what your \u2018Daily Mail Brain\u2019 is telling you. Just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper, or have had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true or you need to listen<\/a> to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t about suggesting that every thought you have is false. It is just that some of our thoughts may not be true. Both the newspaper and your mind are trying to sell you a story. You don\u2019t have to buy into it, or believe it.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo-one really likes me.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m useless.\u201d \u201cPeople wouldn\u2019t miss me if I wasn\u2019t here.\u201d These are some of the thoughts that go through our minds every day. They\u2019re not nice,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health - The Oak Tree Practice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our expert teaches that just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper or had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true >>\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health - The Oak Tree Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our expert teaches that just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper or had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true >>\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Oak Tree Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-19T13:31:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T14:54:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/How-the-Daily-Mail-May-Be-Helpful-For-Our-Mental-Health.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drilanbz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/\",\"name\":\"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health - The Oak Tree Practice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-19T13:31:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-22T14:54:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ecabdce06727a6647199a13e96fb2a7\"},\"description\":\"Our expert teaches that just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper or had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true >>\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Resources\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/category\/resources\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Oak Tree Practice\",\"description\":\"London | Dubai | Online\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ecabdce06727a6647199a13e96fb2a7\",\"name\":\"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48175f42cdb066e51b560d048d053585?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48175f42cdb066e51b560d048d053585?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion\"},\"description\":\"Ilan is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of The Oak Tree Practice. His qualifications include Psychology BSc, Mental Health Studies MSc and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drilanbz\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/author\/ilan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health - The Oak Tree Practice","description":"Our expert teaches that just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper or had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true >>","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health - The Oak Tree Practice","og_description":"Our expert teaches that just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper or had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true >>","og_url":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/","og_site_name":"The Oak Tree Practice","article_published_time":"2017-03-19T13:31:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-22T14:54:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":805,"url":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/How-the-Daily-Mail-May-Be-Helpful-For-Our-Mental-Health.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drilanbz","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/","name":"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health - The Oak Tree Practice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-03-19T13:31:27+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-22T14:54:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ecabdce06727a6647199a13e96fb2a7"},"description":"Our expert teaches that just because you\u2019ve read something in a newspaper or had a thought pass through your mind, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true >>","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/resources\/how-the-daily-mail-may-be-helpful-for-our-mental-health\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/category\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How the Daily Mail May Be Helpful For Our Mental Health"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/","name":"The Oak Tree Practice","description":"London | Dubai | Online","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ecabdce06727a6647199a13e96fb2a7","name":"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48175f42cdb066e51b560d048d053585?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48175f42cdb066e51b560d048d053585?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dr Ilan Ben-Zion"},"description":"Ilan is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of The Oak Tree Practice. His qualifications include Psychology BSc, Mental Health Studies MSc and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/drilanbz"],"url":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/author\/ilan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1971,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions\/1971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoaktreepractice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}