Carrie, this concept of separating from a thought is reminiscent of mindfulness practice (something I'm learning about right now in an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class). I think for it to be successful one needs to have the ability to be aware of the thoughts as entities that CAN be disengaged from. And "practice" is the operative word - I think it can take some practice to be successful. But undoubtedly worth it.
It would be interesting to know how the brain is affected by - or what is happening when it accomplishes - this kind of disengagement.

I learned similar "tactics," but by other names.

Catch It, Challenge It, Change It: "catch" the negative thought, challenge it with a positive one, and thereby work on changing it. Actually changing the thought is the hardest part, but it comes with practice!

Act Opposite: is completely self-explanatory. ED tells you to do one thing? You do the opposite. It's hard, and it sucks sometimes, but in the end you can say BOOYA to your ED. ;)

i think i was one of those unfortunate or fortunate, depending on the situation, people who was given a mind that seems to question everything. the mental gymnastics can leave me worn slick. it's bad enough it's with food and the ed but it's also with every compliment paid me down to the strength of my faith, which too is perception, yes? any compliment that isn't provable is perception in my mind---see what i mean and what i do??? mindfulness just increased my levels of anxiety by charting every little feeling and nuance alongside every snack and meal. if i could figure out a way to eat mindlessly THAT would actually help. a 3 word mantra is worth a shot, though i'm to the point that i might rename it for emphasis. F no, F it-i'm doing it anyway, and F off-there must be something else i can do/think about. short, direct and directive. my own personal ED drill sergeant minus the screaming. ANYTHING for some relief...

"Arguing against myself is harder because both sides of my brain are equally skilled in coming up with convoluted statements, odd facts, and seemingly incontrovertible bits of logic." Laughing my ass off at this. I can soooooo relate.

Even the word "disobey" gives the ed power- as if it is an authority with which you have to contend.

I like "disengage."

I think the whole Stockholm syndrome thing is a deterrent from healthy disengagement- after years and years of abuse by my ed, I feel mentally and emotionally bound to it and indebted to it. I think I need to break that bond before I can disengage. And to break the bond, I need to look the abuse/trauma/damage it has caused square on. That's how I've disengaged from abusive/toxic people anyway- by acknowledging the shit they pulled, grieving the pain from it, then letting it go and letting them go too. Sticking around and trying to prove a point to them or purposely going against their wishes didn't do squat to stop the abuse.

"Disengagement" really is the only way out of an abusive situation. Treating a person who once felt powerful as if they are "nothing" is incredibly empowering.

Disengaging from an ed sounds like an super good solution on so many fronts. But can it be done when the abuser is inside one's own head???

I will be curious to hear further thoughts on this, as you experiment with it. Please keep your readers posted. :)

I have read that book as well. I love when she said, "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out you can't explain it." I am finding it hard to do all three of the D's; I am having a hard time dealing with the anxiety.

I've always read your blog, Carrie, yet I don't think I've ever commented.
Today's post really hits home with me because I know exactly what you mean about the two sides and it sucks cuz I'm always good at arguing both ways.
It is good to know that the ED voice is irrational, though. There's no point in arguing with it cuz it refuses to listen. So you might as well drown it out.
I like the comparison to the man preaching about the end of the world, ha. :)
<3

I was advised to do the same thing by a therapist. She told me that trying to argue with eating disordered thoughts it like trying to stop a toddler from having a tantrum by shouting at it. There's no point using logic on eating disorders because they aren't logical, although they are very good at pretending they are. It's more effective to teach yourself to separate yourself from and ignore those thoughts. When I was younger I thought that this would somehow be ignoring something important, like that voice might hold the answer to why I had an eating disorder. But no, it just talked bollocks :P and I recovered just fine (physically, behaviourally, cognitively and emotionally - I could only deal with my psychological triggers and past traumas once those thoughts had shut up) once I learned to ignore the damn it. I labelled all thoughts like that as symptoms and discarded them.

lol, ignore the damn thing, even. Or ignore it. But the damn it? I don't know what that is. I should really go to bed!

From You can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay: (and no, I am not a "fan" nor do I endorse her or her book, as I've never read it nor researched her as an author- perhaps I would be a fan if I did, who knows? but I have not- just was sent this particular quote from a friend and thought it highly relevant)

"There is no need to get angry in order to clean a room.
It is the same thing when we are cleaning our mental house. There is no need to get angry just because some of the old beliefs in it are ready to be tossed out. Let them go as easily as you would scrape bits of food into the trash after a meal. Would you really dig into yesterday's garbage to make tonight's meal? Do you dig into the old mental garbage to create tomorrow's experiences?
If a thought or belief does not serve you, let it go! There is no written law that says that because you once believed something, you have to continue to believe it forever."

I suppose I could say I disagree, disengage, and then replace. What I mean by that is that, for example, when ED starts babbling about how I should restrict again to lose the gross weight I gained, I say, "No. It's not gross weight, it's healthy weight. Your weight is okay and YOU are okay." This reassures me, so then I am able to halt the thought in its tracks. After that, if I keep having trouble, I repeat affirmations to myself, affirmations I KNOW are true, so that not only am I saying no to ED, but I have thoughts that COUNTER the eating disorder. Having something to replace the ED with is extremely important for me, because if nothing replaces it, that leaves ED room to come back in and start haunting me and whispering in my ear again. And I do NOT want that.