Cognitive Dissonance

[Orange]

How does it work exactly? Why is there such a thing? And how does go away? After how long? 

I have an example: I want to be vegan, but I will find cheese in the fridge and eat it. And then I will justify this by saying in my mind something like: I am only learning more about addiction right now. This is a great opportunity to feel what it is to be addicted. I am learning about other non vegans too, by getting into their state of mind and feeling what it feels like to put pleasure and greed before ethics/compassion/whatever else. and whilst eating I will also say that I am learning why it is so hard to quit on cheese. But of course, the only thing I was after was the taste of cheese. But I end up hating myself because if I cannot get over this simple thing, how can I hope anybody else will?

Isn't it strange. How psychology works. 

And I have all the intellectual and emotional knowledge to know that eating animal products are the worst things in my experience. 

 

 

 

[Orange]

Oh no I forgot the biggest element; I am also hopeless about change for animals of this earth. This is a huge thing too. So I will think: what change does it make if I eat this cheese or not? 

And so i eat the cheese.. 

[Emerald]

You basically have a semi-conscious thought process that talks you out of making good decisions. I didn't have this problem with Veganism because I committed to it completely. So, I gave myself no wiggle room to talk myself out of it, and now it's just the way that I eat. I've been Vegan for a year. However, I still have this thought process when it comes to doing the dishes. I tell myself "I should do the dishes every day." But then, I rationalize it away. I say, "There are only a few dishes in the sink, I'll wait until tomorrow." Then, by the next day, I always have an overwhelmingly large amount of dishes to do. So, my kitchen is always very stressful to clean.

So, I recommend adopting Veganism as an identification (temporarily), even if it's your first day as a Vegan. You will be less likely to eat things that are non-Vegan because it will feel dishonest to you, given that you call yourself a Vegan. It will help solidify your commitment. If you tell others it will also give you more incentive not to talk yourself out of it. 

Also, I can relate to the feeling of powerlessness too. That was one of the toughest emotions that I had to transition through when I went Vegan. However, that's all part of the process of becoming more aware. It's all part of personal growth. You're becoming aware of why you became okay with eating meat (and other animal products) in the first place. Most people have Vegan values and don't want for animals to suffer, but feel utterly powerless to make any kind of change in this issue. So, as children, we sort of resign ourselves to eating things that cause others to suffer. And this is also why it's difficult to transition because the emotion of powerlessness against something so heavy comes back up into the conscious mind, instead of remaining buried in the unconscious mind. So, the reintegration process is pretty brutal for those transitioning to Veganism.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Emerald

[Space]

Try just not buying cheese in the first place. It's a lot easier to not buy something in the supermarket, than it is to resist the temptation to eat something that's in your kitchen cupboard. 

[S33K3R]

Cognitive dissonance is where you have two conflicting thoughts at the same time and it makes your brain glitch out. I believe you are describing something different.  

When you have a belief you want to implement and you make a mistake it is your ego rationalizing the decision to give you good reason to do what is pleasurable to the ego once again in the future. This will never stop until you align your beliefs with your actions. Ego will always try to rationalize and blame you for making decisions. This brings about depression which the ego uses to control you through confusion, fear, and anxiety. 

Its basically an internal butterfly effect that ends in the ego getting more power over your behavior.

[pluto]

Meditation and Less social media, TV and more nature helps DE-program the mind and body and restore you to balance. Sometimes a juice cleanse or water fast is necessary as well for optimal restoration and chemical re-balancing.

[MattP]

It all boils down to just one thing... Self discipline. I have many addictions, (including cheese) and if you really, truly want to kill your addictions, then you will do it. But I don't blame you. Cheese is so good! I think everyone needs to have some sort of addiction just to cope with life. Many might not even realize that they have an addiction. I know I do; do I want to stop? Not really. I have given up on creating justifications for the things I do. I do things because I want to, and they temporarily make me feel better. But at the same time, these actions contradict my values, and I end up feeling bad, or guilty for doing them.

I will sometimes think of all the benefits I will gain by changing my lifestyle, but when I try, I become more miserable. And then maybe one addiction is just replaced with another. A lot of it has to do with needing instant gratification. I have found it hard to focus on the big picture of life, (which is what?) and going after temporary fixes to get me through. It just feels right, and good. Then later, it feel bad.

To kill addictions, a person must suffer, and continue to suffer until the cravings are gone. Sometimes cravings will never go away. That is where the self discipline comes in. But you truly have to want to make a change, and know it is right for you in your heart; not just because someone else tells you "this will be good for you." we have all been programmed one way or another since birth, and sometimes we just don't have the energy needed to continue the fight against ourselves. 

[Loreena]

This is rationalization of belief but does not appear as cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the presence of conflicting ideas.