Introduction
There’s hundreds of methods and practices available for you to improve your mental health, from meditation to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Today, I want to introduce you to a technique that was developed by me and my sister, which helps us see our negative thoughts in a new light. We’ve decided to call it Daffy Ducking.
What is Daffy Ducking?
Daffy Ducking is a process where you first identify a negative thought that has been floating around in your head for a while, perhaps being considered as truthful and unchallened. For example, “Maybe I’m meant to suffer.”
Next, you take that statement, and imagine it being said out loud by Daffy Duck.
That’s it! It’s very simple, but if you take it the way my sister and I use it, you’ll find the mental image of Daffy saying such a downer statement to be funny in its incongruousness, and help you see that the thought perhaps is not as truthful as it made you believe.
Why Does Daffy Ducking Work?
We think that there are several factors that contribute to the power of Daffy Ducking.
- Daffy Duck is a kid’s cartoon character. Those characters rarely, if not ever, are depicted as having depression, pathos, self-loathing or other such feelings. The contrast of a character who never has ennui showing ennui is a strong juxtaposition, and juxtapositions are often a key ingredient in finding something funny. (And in contrast, it would be unhelpful to use a character like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh for this technique, as he is perpetually in a state of ennui, therefore there would be no juxtaposition.)
- As a cartoon character, it is easy for many of us to visualise him saying things, and adding imagination to the process makes it more engaging for the brain, rather than just listening to your own voice in your head
- Daffy Duck is often angry, yelling, and overly dramatic. Again, this can be a good contrast to the more pathos-tinged statements
- Daffy talks with a lisp. The affect of his speech takes some of the seriousness out of anything he says, and that would include statements of dispair. A similar thing could be observed when you are crying, and trying to tell someone how you feel, but the tears and snot make the sentence come out all chopped up and incomprehensible. That makes the message harder to understand and to take completely seriously.
- Daffy in the new Looney Tunes show is an over-the-top drama queen. It’s funny watching drama queens react dramatically.
- Daffy is also pretty in love with himself. So even if we assign negative thoughts to him, we can feel like it’s a temporary woe, and his self-loving nature will come back in full force soon enough.
But This Is Just Silly Kids Stuff!
Actually it has a basis in real world mental health support. It uses ‘cognitive reframing’, which is where we shift our mindset to look at things from a slightly different perspective. We are changing the ‘camera lens’ of how we view life from our practiced perspective of who we think we are, to a different lens – though this fictional character. [How Cognitive Reframing Works by Amy Morin]
We are, in a modified way, doing the first steps of reframing – knowing what thoughts to look for, and practicing catching them. Once we are comfortable doing this, then we can choose to check and change the thoughts. [Reframing Unhelpful Thoughts – Better Health NHS UK]
Can This Work for Other Characters?
Absolutely! Pick a character that really resonates with you, as long as it generally follows the guidelines of…
- A character without much emotional depth – don’t use Shrek, because we’ve known his pain, it’ll just make you sad!
- The cockier the better – think Duffman from The Simpsons, or Quagmire from Family Guy
- Funny voices are always good – so many Mel Blanc characters could be listed here! Consider Elmer Fudd or Foghorn Leghorn
Take it Further with Multimedia
If you have a hard time with visualisation, you could try turning the statements into graphics using your computer.
For example, ImgFlip lets you write text on top of images, which you can then save and share. (The kids call these ‘memes’). Here’s a template for a Daffy and Bugs interaction:
After I added my own text, here’s what it looks like:
It’s a good template because the second frame shows the realisation that the statement may not be true, kind or helpful.
I also like using layouts where Bugs is talking, because he is the calm balance to Daffy’s fiery nature, so he can give good advice for Daffy to consider.
Conclusion
I hope that this technique helps you in reframing some of your own negative thoughts and beliefs, and helps you feel even a little bit better about them. If you want to share some of your own memes, feel free to leave a link to them in the comments below, and I might even add them to this post!
Peace, love and sunshine,
Jessica
