Dr. Ethan Cross

So this is a story of Jerry Leninger, who was working on the Mir space station. And he's doing some data entry when all of a sudden he begins to hear the space station alarms begin to siren. He stops entering the data and goes to investigate. And as he moves down the portal and turns around the corner, he begins to see fire and smoke. His first instinct is to go find a respirator.

So this is a story of Jerry Leninger, who was working on the Mir space station. And he's doing some data entry when all of a sudden he begins to hear the space station alarms begin to siren. He stops entering the data and goes to investigate. And as he moves down the portal and turns around the corner, he begins to see fire and smoke. His first instinct is to go find a respirator.

So this is a story of Jerry Leninger, who was working on the Mir space station. And he's doing some data entry when all of a sudden he begins to hear the space station alarms begin to siren. He stops entering the data and goes to investigate. And as he moves down the portal and turns around the corner, he begins to see fire and smoke. His first instinct is to go find a respirator.

So he begins to swim through the air, trying to find a respirator. And as he's swimming through the air trying to find this respirator, all sorts of random thoughts begin to fire in his mind, some of which are quite irrational. For example, one thought was open a window, not something that you either can do or want to do in outer space.

So he begins to swim through the air, trying to find a respirator. And as he's swimming through the air trying to find this respirator, all sorts of random thoughts begin to fire in his mind, some of which are quite irrational. For example, one thought was open a window, not something that you either can do or want to do in outer space.

So he begins to swim through the air, trying to find a respirator. And as he's swimming through the air trying to find this respirator, all sorts of random thoughts begin to fire in his mind, some of which are quite irrational. For example, one thought was open a window, not something that you either can do or want to do in outer space.

Just an example of how the mind is cycling through these different potential solutions to the problems we're in. So he keeps on looking for a respirator. He finds one and then it begins to malfunction. And at this point, the space station is filling with smoke. He's having trouble breathing. And he's really began to worry about his survival.

Just an example of how the mind is cycling through these different potential solutions to the problems we're in. So he keeps on looking for a respirator. He finds one and then it begins to malfunction. And at this point, the space station is filling with smoke. He's having trouble breathing. And he's really began to worry about his survival.

Just an example of how the mind is cycling through these different potential solutions to the problems we're in. So he keeps on looking for a respirator. He finds one and then it begins to malfunction. And at this point, the space station is filling with smoke. He's having trouble breathing. And he's really began to worry about his survival.

He's thinking about his wife and child back on planet Earth. And as he's beginning to search for that respirator, he actually starts talking to himself like he's giving advice to someone else. He says to himself, okay, Jerry, you've got to get going. You need oxygen here. You need to start acting. And... He just manages to go a tiny bit further and find one more respirator. And he puts it on.

He's thinking about his wife and child back on planet Earth. And as he's beginning to search for that respirator, he actually starts talking to himself like he's giving advice to someone else. He says to himself, okay, Jerry, you've got to get going. You need oxygen here. You need to start acting. And... He just manages to go a tiny bit further and find one more respirator. And he puts it on.

He's thinking about his wife and child back on planet Earth. And as he's beginning to search for that respirator, he actually starts talking to himself like he's giving advice to someone else. He says to himself, okay, Jerry, you've got to get going. You need oxygen here. You need to start acting. And... He just manages to go a tiny bit further and find one more respirator. And he puts it on.

It's working. And then he begins to put out the fire. One extinguisher after another, after another. Eventually, the fire gets under control. They extinguish it. They put it out. The fire on the space station goes down as one of the worst catastrophes in space travel history. And he lives to tell the story of what happened after.

It's working. And then he begins to put out the fire. One extinguisher after another, after another. Eventually, the fire gets under control. They extinguish it. They put it out. The fire on the space station goes down as one of the worst catastrophes in space travel history. And he lives to tell the story of what happened after.

It's working. And then he begins to put out the fire. One extinguisher after another, after another. Eventually, the fire gets under control. They extinguish it. They put it out. The fire on the space station goes down as one of the worst catastrophes in space travel history. And he lives to tell the story of what happened after.

What distant self-talk involves is coaching yourself through a problem, typically silently, using your name or you to give yourself instruction. You're essentially talking to yourself in your head like you would give advice to someone else. One of the things we know about people is that it is often much easier for us to give advice to others than it is to take our own advice.

What distant self-talk involves is coaching yourself through a problem, typically silently, using your name or you to give yourself instruction. You're essentially talking to yourself in your head like you would give advice to someone else. One of the things we know about people is that it is often much easier for us to give advice to others than it is to take our own advice.

What distant self-talk involves is coaching yourself through a problem, typically silently, using your name or you to give yourself instruction. You're essentially talking to yourself in your head like you would give advice to someone else. One of the things we know about people is that it is often much easier for us to give advice to others than it is to take our own advice.

There's the famous saying, do as I say, not as I do. And what we see happening across studies is that when you ask people to try to navigate intense negative emotional experiences, it's a lot easier for them to do so effectively when they're using this kind of self-talk. We find that it not only helps people calm down subjectively, it also helps them reason more wisely about their problems.

There's the famous saying, do as I say, not as I do. And what we see happening across studies is that when you ask people to try to navigate intense negative emotional experiences, it's a lot easier for them to do so effectively when they're using this kind of self-talk. We find that it not only helps people calm down subjectively, it also helps them reason more wisely about their problems.