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The Stories We Live By – Health and healing

The Stories We Live By – Common-Sense Model

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The Stories We Live By

How the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation shapes our health and healing. Explore it, test it, then apply it to your own story.

1. Meet the “naive scientist” within

When a health threat appears, we instinctively build a mental model of it (an illness representation) by asking five questions, plus an emotional reaction. Tap each card.

2. Spot the dimension

Which part of the illness representation is each thought expressing?

3. The story determines the behavior

Choose the belief each person holds and see where it leads.

4. The self-regulation loop

Representation → Coping → Appraisal → Update. Tap a stage, then decide whether the coping worked.

What did the coping do?

5. Audit your own story

Pick a health worry or a stressor you are facing. Write what you currently believe, in your own words. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

The situation (e.g. persistent headaches, a new diagnosis, constant fatigue) Identity – what do I call it, and what symptoms go with it? Cause – what do I think started it? Timeline – how long will it last? Consequences – what will it do to my body, work, relationships, money? Cure / Control – how much can treatment or my own actions change it? (1 = not at all, 5 = a lot) Emotion – the strongest feeling right now

Educational use only. This is not medical advice; for a health concern, speak with a qualified clinician.

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November 13, 2026

Dr.K.Kumar

Brain, Mind & Behaviour

Common-Sense Model, Counselling, health and healing, mental health, Psychology, psychology insights, Self-Regulation