Glossary

At ShiftGrit, we believe that lasting change requires clear understanding.
This glossary defines key proprietary and emerging therapeutic concepts associated with the ShiftGrit Core Method™.

It explains how identity-level patterns form, how limiting beliefs shape behaviour, and how reconditioning techniques work at the level where emotional loops begin.
Whether you’re a client, clinician, or simply curious, this is where you’ll find the language that underpins our model of change.

Belief Unpairing
Glossary

Belief Unpairing

A three-panel “Galaxy Brain” style meme used in the ShiftGrit Glossary. It illustrates the progression from avoidance and coping → exploring therapy with ShiftGrit → the Reconditioning Protocol. The glowing brain stages represent increasing awareness and transformation.
Glossary

Reconditioning Protocol

Cartoon meme of Walnut Brain parodying Drake format, rejecting “facing discomfort” and approving “avoiding discomfort with Opt-Out Behaviour.”
Glossary

Opt-Out Behaviour — When the System Ejects to Escape the Loop

Cartoon walnut brain character sweating while trying to choose between two red buttons labeled “Pretend It’s Fine” and “Lose Control.”
Glossary

The Pressure Cooker – When Coping Strategies Build Until You Break

Meme-style illustration of Walnut Brain representing a Pattern Loop in ShiftGrit Therapy.
Glossary

Pattern Loops — The Repeating Cycle That Reinforces Itself

Cartoon parody of the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme featuring Logic distracted by Walnut Brain while Facts looks on angrily — illustrating how automatic threat responses can hijack rational thinking.
Glossary

The Walnut Brain — Why We React Before We Think

Rock driving meme with Walnut Brain interrupting positive thoughts, illustrating limiting beliefs.
Glossary

Limiting Beliefs — The Quiet Loops That Shape Everything

Confirmation Bias Shift 101
Glossary

Confirmation Bias — When Your Brain Filters Reality to Match the…

Dysfunctional Needs
Glossary

Dysfunctional Needs™ — The Coping Strategies That Keep the Belief Alive

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Shift-101
Glossary

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy — When the Belief Makes It True

Cognitive Dissonance Shift-101
Glossary

Cognitive Dissonance — The Mental Tug-of-War Between Belief and Behaviour

Cartoon Walnut Brain riding a bike, poking its own wheel with a stick, then falling and blaming the crash — representing how Non-Nurturing Elements™ cause self-sabotage.
Glossary

Non-Nurturing Elements™ — Where Patterns Begin

Patterns

Gallery

Anxiety Treatment Using Shifts Unique Approach
A woman sits frozen in distress on the floor with scattered papers and a laptop, symbolizing the freeze response in high-functioning perfectionists
A surreal digital painting shows a calm person in a peaceful room being subtly restrained by vines labeled with words like “should” and “must,” symbolizing the internal pressure to stay productive even during rest.
Our Favourite Life Improvement Strategies List
Black and white abstract illustration symbolizing distorted perception and hypervigilant mental loops—anxiety patterns visualized.
PTSD: Understanding the Symptoms, Causes and Treatment Options 
Hand-drawn toolbox overflowing with papers, lists, and timers, with a spiral thought bubble floating above — a metaphor for coping fatigue and burnout.
Abstract image evoking sensory overload and emotional filtering, symbolizing ADHD and cognitive loops.
Illustration of a person surrounded by completed tasks while hesitating over a blank page, symbolizing productive procrastination and internalized fear of failure.