Ever tried not to think about something, only to think about it even more? The 'pink elephant' experiment reveals why that ...

It’s because our brains are wired to latch onto ideas we’re told to avoid,” says existential psychotherapist Gurleen Baruah ...

Now, just by reading that, it’s likely that a pink elephant has popped into your mind, even though the instruction was to avoid it. This is a perfect example of how intrusive thoughts work ...

The “pink elephant” experiment illustrates the mind’s struggle to suppress intrusive thoughts. When told, “Don’t think of a ...