The Power of Metacognition and Equanimity.
Metacognition
For millennia, intellectuals, religious teachers and philosophers have been concerned with the importance of metacognition (self-observation) and equanimity for a life well-lived. Metacognition is thought to be uniquely human, a process defined as the higher order ability to ‘think about thinking’. To become aware of our mental processes and in doing so realise that there is a separation between self and thinking. Since the nineties researchers have been attempting to explain how we are able to harness this capacity for deep self-observation and awareness. There’s still a long way to go. Even so, psychotherapeutic applications of metacognition are now beginning to permeate treatment of psychological difficulty with powerful effects. This article will outline psychotherapeutic applications of metacognition and equanimity training.
Metacognition is a representation of our experience through cognition (thinking) which becomes distinct from the experience itself. It is an awareness of being, it is the act of being self-aware and is a pathway to and proliferator of self-discovery and authenticity.
“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself”
We aren’t always meta-conscious, sometimes we are just being. An example of this, we are always experiencing breathing, we are not always meta-conscious of our experience of breathing, only when we purposefully focus on our breathing do we become meta-conscious. We are always experiencing, but we are not always aware of our experiences, this goes for distressing psychological processes too. Anger is a great example of experiencing without meta-cognition. When anger arises, it’s easy to become the anger. Anger takes over, you are nothing else, you are the emotion and thoughtless reactivity ensues. Lust is another potent emotion that leads to a lack of meta-cognition and thoughtless reactivity.
Thoughtless reactivity can become habitual and is a dangerous place to live, to know you are having an experience is meta-conscious and is the remedy for reactivity. Awareness of experience offers space where we can watch and choose how to respond to life experiences thoughtfully.
Meta-cognition is similar to non-egocentric thinking, this entails the ability to stand back and observe the thinking and perspective of self and others from a place of non-judgment. A common and relatable example of acting without metacognition is as follows, a family member or colleague ‘criticises’ or ‘insults’ you, we can all think of a scenario. The anger and defensiveness rise. You snap back with a defence or an insult for them. I am not like this; you are like this. Afterwards, the bad feelings haven’t disappeared, you don’t feel better. You feel emotionally dysregulated and ruminate about it for hours, days, sometimes holding grudges and resentment for months, years.
Imagine, instead, another person ‘criticises’ or ‘insults’ you, you pause, you don’t defend, you don’t react, but you don’t accept the criticism or insult either, you don’t internalise it or believe it. You watch your difficult thoughts and emotions, you feel them in your body, you note that they are painful, but that they will pass. You can’t stop people from insulting you, you can only control your reaction or non-reaction. You respond graciously, evenly. You are equanimous.
Metacognition gone wrong…
We can all sit and overanalyse our experiences, after the fact, through the mirror of memory, during and before. Doing this too much is a symptom of and/or an antecedent to anxiety. Chronic anxiety is a human experience directly related to the ability to meta-cognise; to think about and analyse our own experiences.
We can overcome this propensity for anxiety, by watching emotions and thoughts intently and becoming aware through direct experience that emotions and thoughts, are fleeting, arbitrary. They are changeable/malleable, in this way you are using meta-cognition to reduce unhelpful meta-cognition. The more you practice meta-cognition the further you can take it. You can watch your thinking, you can also watch the watcher who is watching your thinking, and so on. Accessing deeper levels of self. This might be inconceivable now, but with experience this deeper self will become apparent. Some individuals, through practice, become extremely adept at this deeper metacognition and can access elusive and subtle levels of consciousness, garnering a deep understanding of self and psyche with a multitude of benefits.
What is Equanimity?
Attempting to respond to difficulty and strong emotion with equanimity is rarely easy, however with strategies, techniques and repeated attempts, the mind is trained to be less reactive over time. Meta-cognition in combination with attempted equanimity is where real life-change happens.
Carl Jung’s views on equanimity are guided by his assertions that difficulty and suffering are an inherent part of being human, to avoid this difficulty is impossible. Instead, we should attempt to accept this darkness with equanimity and patience.
Equanimity is a combination of two latin terms, aequess, meaning, ‘even, level’ and animus , meaning ‘mind’ or ‘spirit’. AKA, the ability to remain calm, composed, open and non-reactive in the face of life’s challenges distress. Most people aren’t born with this trait but can actively cultivate it, it is a mindset that can be trained. Even the most reactive person can become an extremely equanimous person. Using the ability to meta-cognise, to watch thinking, emotions and reactions in real-time, to reflect, to make changes with the goal of equanimity is the fast-track to a purposeful and well-led life.
Equanimity is the ability to stay calm and balanced in both challenging and positive situations. Words that describe equanimity but don’t entirely capture its essence include, stability, balanced, evenness, calm, unattached, tolerant, level-headed, composed, non-reactive, collectedness and open. Research has demonstrated that individuals who actively practice equanimity are able to return more quickly back to baseline after a stressor, have higher distress tolerance as well as improved emotion regulation.
It is an ancient virtue, most prominent in western Stoicism and eastern Buddhism. Unsurprisingly, universal truths are often found repeated throughout history and over cultures.
Cultivating Metacognition and Equanimity
1) Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation builds metacognitive intelligence. Our sense of self is usually embedded and not separated from our thinking. Sense of self (identity) and thoughts are fused. With meditation we begin to defuse (cognitive defusion) or differentiate our identity from our thought stream. Through mindfulness meditation we can develop a holistic and more objective view on our own habitual patterns of thoughts, feelings, rumination and reactivity. A creation of space which allows the development of equanimity, non-reaction and authentic self.
Wexen offers skill-development for mindfulness meditation techniques and strategies in psychotherapy. Contact us now for more information or book an appointment.
2) Cognitive Defusion
Cognitive defusion builds metacognition through repeated observation of inner sensations, just like a muscle strengthening through weight training, metacognition strengthens with observation of self. Equanimity is achieved through the creation of space between self and thoughts. You may not initially be able to reduce the frequency or intensity of negative experiences but you can change their relationship/view of them e.g., ‘I am experiencing resentful thoughts but I am not my angry/resentful thoughts and feelings.’ There is space there.
Cognitive defusion enables a more objective perspective, empowering individuals to relate to their mental processes with greater acceptance and flexibility. Individuals become less of a powerless victim and more of an objective observer to the ever-changing nature of their inner experiences.
Harris, 2009, provides an excellent exercise, titled, ‘leaves on a stream’ created for use in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (see below). This enables initial skill-building of meta-cognition and equanimity. Contact WEXEN for a free audio file.
Harris, R. (2009). ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
3) Emotion Regulation Techniques
Practicing emotion regulation techniques will improve metacognition and equanimity over time, most emotion regulation techniques begin with metacognition and end with equanimity. There are a multitude that are utilised in psychotherapy: monitoring and understanding emotions, non-judgmental mindful emotion awareness, developing compassion, anchoring, acceptance techniques, observing breath, setting goals, value work, meaning-making, routine-structuring and so on.
4) Emotion Exposure
Emotion exposure trains our ability to be metacognitive and equanimous. It is the opposite of experiential/emotional avoidance which can be defined as unhealthy efforts to avoid uncomfortable emotions. For example, excusing oneself from social situations because of social anxiety, or cognitive avoidance, distracting oneself from difficult thoughts/emotions or attempting to engage in thought suppression. Exposing oneself to difficult emotions deliberately and purposefully with the goal of being less reactive and more equanimous enables healing. In therapy this can look like deliberately eliciting an emotional response using various techniques and then dealing with the emotion in real time with the therapist there to help.
-Book an appointment or a free consultation with Wexen below to learn more -
