I got mind-body bridging suggested to me as a way to cope with negative people. Actually, it was presented as a way to gain more empathy and I was like "Pfft, negative people need to be demolished instead of symphatized with."

Luckily I still took up the suggestion and got a book on mind-body bridging (MBB), because mind-body bridging is awesome! I read Mind-Body Workbook for Stress by Stanley H. Block and co.

I'd prefer to read a less practical and more theory-oriented book to start with, but this one was easily available and seemed like it could fit the situation. The book is obviously a workbook, as things are not really explained in that much detail and I-system and Depressor etc. are just taken as given. I'd love to hear more about why there is an I-system or about the research done on MBB in general. This time I just decided to go with it and believe these things are the real deal.

It seems that you have this I-system that exists basically just to mess with you and make it harder for you to do anything. The point of MBB is to quiet your I-system by mindfulness and self-reflection and then use the reasonable and calm state to solve your problems.

Sort of like weaponized Zen.

Requirements

Noticing and defusing your requirements is a key element of MBB. Requirements are things that you would like to happen or not happen and you've made Issues out of them. If "people should act nice" is a Requirement for you and someone behaves badly, it's not just annoying, it's a personal insult, hitting you right in the core of your being and activating your I-system. Once you notice these, they can be worked out and they start to diminish in strength.

Body tension

The key takeaway for me was the idea that an active I-system (a bad thing) can be most easily spotted by tension in the body. I realized that my signature tell is my jaw clenching when a Requirement is involved in a situation. So I've started to take clenched jaw as a sign, that I should stop and usually try to defuse something.

MBB in practice

I've had problems with annoying people. As I've looked back on those interactions through MBB-goggles, I realize that those annoying people have been pushing my Requirement-buttons like crazy. I require people to be cool, composed and capable. If someone acts hysterically, can't cope with something or loses his/her temper, my Requirement is not met and my I-system activated immediately.

Ironically, active I-system also makes me lose my temper more easily! Which then activates other I-system mechanisms presented in the book, like Fixer and Depressor etc. Sub-optimal interaction ensues.

The whole idea about I-system, Fixers, Depressors, etc. is super-interesting. Sadly, the book doesn't really explain why these kind of mechanisms are there or cite any research about them at all. As this was a workbook, I really can't blame the book for it, but I would just like to know more about the mechanisms, before starting to evangelize much or build my whole life around these tools.

Still, MBB seems to work, so maybe I wouldn't need to worry so much about this. In the short while that I've tried the stuff in the book out, I seem to have gained a lot of tools and also understanding about myself.

It's almost ridiculous.

Still, can't but recommend to check out this Mind-Body Bridging thing. It seems like there really might be something truly powerful hidden in this.