paradoxical intention

noun

1. (in psychotherapy) the deliberate practice of a neurotic habit or thought, undertaken in order to remove it

Example Sentences

One of the particular cruelties of insomnia is that any conscious effort to fall asleep tends to worsen the problem, which is why some therapists recommend the technique of “paradoxical intention”—tricking yourself into sleep, by trying to stay awake.

From The New Yorker