Opposite Action: Mental Health Strategy from Scripture

 By: Lauren Thomas 

Don’t you love it when psychology promotes something we already know is beneficial according to the Bible? God created us. His Word speaks to us. It’s only right that what is good for us is what God has already told us is good for us.

Let me share with you a mental health strategy I recently came across that I also see in Scripture. It is called “opposite action.” Because emotion-driven behavior is often problematic in our lives and relationships, opposite action is a strategy that yields new, favorable outcomes. Giving into emotion-driven impulses is often how we think we can escape unpleasant emotions. But instead, acting on these impulses usually intensifies the emotion we are trying to escape. Using opposite action means that you consciously choose to do the opposite of what you would normally want to do in a situation. For instance, if you feel depressed and want to lie in bed all day, using opposite action would mean choosing to get up and take a shower, even if you don’t feel like it. Or, instead of lashing out in anger and using your words to hurt someone, you hold your tongue, take some time to calm down, and do something nice for that person instead. The idea is that if you move a muscle, you change the message in your brain.

Does this sound like something we’ve read in the Bible already? Two passages immediately come to mind:

 

15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 ESV

 

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:4-6 ESV

 

Giving thanks when we feel jealous, rejoicing when we feel sad, repaying evil with good when we want revenge, praying instead of giving in to anxiety-driven behaviors are all examples of opposite action. God gave us these instructions because he knows that when we move in the right direction, we can change the feelings and thoughts in our brains.

 

If you want to try opposite action, here is a step-by-step worksheet:

• Identify the emotion (What are you feeling?)
• Identify the emotion-driven behavior (What do you normally want to do?)
• Opposite action (What would be the opposite action of the emotion-driven behavior?)
• Time frame (Commit to a timeframe that you can sustain the opposite action.)
• New outcomes (What are the new outcomes based on your opposite action?)

 

Reflection:

Can you think of a time when acting on emotion-driven impulses created a problem in your life?

Is there a context in your life where using opposite action would be beneficial to you?

How can you give thanks or rejoice today, in spite of what you are feeling?