Channeling Your Inner 2-Year-Old

Good news: I'm learning interesting things in my classes. Even better news: I'm passing some of that knowledge on to you! Don't worry, though. I'm not going to go on a vaccine rant or spew out math equations at you. I want to give you a tool of sorts that you can easily use in your day-to-day life. What is this magnificent thing I felt the need to tell you about? Well, it's nothing new. It's the question we hate getting bombarded by: "Why?"

I know, this is earth-shattering. But really, this is a super helpful question, especially when asked over and over again. My professor in my social epidemiology class started our semester with this approach, and I'm going to show you via her example why I think this is so important. Her main research interest is the effects of smoking on pregnancy. Now from the outset, you're probably thinking, "This topic is pretty closed. Don't smoke while you're pregnant." Ok, well consider women who are smokers while pregnant. Why are they smoking while pregnant? Well, they probably were smoking before they got pregnant. Why? Maybe smoking is a source of stress relief for them. Why are they stressed? Maybe they're working a high-pressure job or two. Why? They need the job(s) to pay their bills.

Ok, I'll stop there. See how by asking four "why's" one after another, we've dug deeper into developing a hypothesis as to why some women choose to smoke while they are pregnant. The topic added more dimensionality and made you think more than if you just stopped with the first explanation. So, you can see how this process is helpful for epidemiologists and researchers. But guess what - it's also pretty handy for people who aren't anywhere near those roles. Not only can it make conversations more interesting, but it is also great for processing those not-so-great thoughts or emotions.

I've found that it helps me with battling anxious thoughts. Instead of having the same thing circling through my head over and over or catastrophizing, asking why makes me focus and start to see what's driving it all. And to keep myself from getting overwhelmed, this method requires me to stick to one explanation for each why. Otherwise I can't decently keep asking "why" while expecting to be able to find some sort of answer. And, it requires me to leave the previous layers behind. By the fifth iteration of it, I have something that I can sit with which isn't fueled by anxiety.

Honestly, it works with any repeating thought that you're not sure why it's there. If it's a happy thought, maybe you can learn more about why it makes you so gosh darn happy. If it's something filled with frustration or anger, maybe you can figure out why you aren't letting it go and what to do about it to prevent or dismantle a buildup of resentment. Or maybe you're just bored and an exercise like this can save you from the boredom. Who knows, doing this repeatedly could also help you build up some stamina for those little kids who are at the stage of asking "why" incessantly. Give it a try sometime. Let your 2-year-old loose a bit - you won't be disappointed.

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