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The original was posted on /r/2meirl4meirl by /u/Independent-Call-590 on 2025-06-28 19:33:05+00:00.
It does technically boil down to just a noose but a lot of male humans are indoctrinated to idealize dying in combat defending their families or communities.
I'm still in the process of purging latent masculinity myself, and still sometimes catch myself fantasizing about protecting friends and neighbors from Gestapo agents--something I've thankfully realized is totally unrealistic and no longer waste energy on when I notice my subconscious generating those impulse again.
Not everyone realizes that thoughts do not actually arise as a conscious process: the brain is generating noise of all kinds and you, as the observer, choose which concepts to amplify and cultivate or which ones to ignore and let atrophy. Neural signal patterns reinforce through repetition. If you don't give it your attention, it will grow weaker and fade.
When you deliberately "think about" something, what you're doing is filtering for conceptual patterns that match your intent, but the concepts congeal on their own.
One concept cultivation practice that has helped me on several occasions was placing myself in the role of the person comforting someone else. Knowing that the are other people who feel just as isolated and insecure. People are guarded. They are afraid of showing vulnerability because others may choose to hurt them. Recognizing within yourself the ability to choose not to harm in this scenario is pivotal. You are capable of comforting others.
Otherwise, because I know it's almost impossible to succeed at merely telling yourself "stop thinking about ", it's much more effective to tell yourself "stop thinking about ". My go-to is something silly: animals of bizarre coloration.
"Do not think about purple lions. Do not think about them having tea with blue giraffes. Do not think about the purple lions and blue giraffes being served tea by green penguins. Do not think about the green penguins dressed as maids and butlers..."
By then I've usually already forgotten about whatever was on my mind prior.
(I call this technique The Technicolor Menagerie)