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Challenging Negative Thoughts

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Challenging Negative Thoughts

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1022

Pete, no need to apologize for being real... being honest. Yes, we have had this discussion before and will continue to have it as long as there are people coming here struggling with these same issues... um... I think that is pretty much everyone. Seriously. Everyone. You are not the only one to feel stuck and lost and incapable of following the program. You are not the only one to feel too stupid to get it. Been there, done that myself. The concepts seem so simple. Getting them to simply work takes time and practice.

With time and practice... my life has changed tremendously. It was so hard at first and I was so crabby and resentful and felt I would never get it. Eventually, I started to catch on... bit by bit. Applying the CBT principles to the littlest thing and learning... always learning a little bit at a time. Eventually I started thinking and behaving in a more positive way and didn't even realize it at first. It just started to happen.

Much of what holds us back at first is the insistence on perfection. We either do it "right" or we don't do it at all. This program is tough. It really takes a lot of focus, concentration, and persistence. It does not come naturally. I repeat... it does not come naturally. We are learning new skills here and it feels very awkward at first and for quite sometime as we work it through.

Finally, I just want to point out that we are not being asked to deny the truth of our existence... the reality of our lives... the intensity of the pain. In my opinion, a good starting point is accepting our own reality but then agreeing with ourselves to learn how to look at things from a different perspective. That doesn't mean pretend things are positive. My experience as been that the positive kinda sneaks up on you as the program work is done.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 223

Sorry sorry sorry I've been and done it again - taken a bullheaded, overly-negative tone in my postings. You're all so patient and trying to help me, but I'm just so stuck and so lost and so incapable of following this program, even after all the time I've been coming to this site. It's designed to help people just like me, so why am I so stupid I just can't get a handle on it?

I apologise for being such a pain, coming across as so arrogant. It's really not me, you know, just a sort of defence mechanism or something.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11215

Ok, If you cannot think that a thought is untrue what is an alternative more positive that is ok there are more ways to challenge the thought according to the questions above.

For one example, what are more positive alternative thoughts you could focus on instead?

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 223

Yeah, okay, bingo!!!!

But ...

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but ..... I genuinely believe that my thoughts (whether characterised as negative or not) are true reflections of/on reality. For example, my house is shabby, old, cramped and cold. It needs more money spent on it than I will earn in five years. That's one of the things that gets me down. I don't see any other way of looking at that situation. For example, I am 50. More than half way to my grave. That gets me down, that I have had more life than I shall have. No other way to look at that. For example, I have an injured shoulder which means I cannot play guitar at the moment. That gets me down. No other way .... etc etc ..... I'm sure you get the picture without my going on for ever.

I'm genuinely glad for you, ~m, that this approach/technique helps you, but it does not resonate with everybody, and I just can't look at my thoughts, beliefs and all that in this way, because everything serving to depress me is so grounded in fact.

Haven't we had this conversation before some time?

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11215

Bingo ~m!!

Here to help :)

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1022

try skipping 2 and moving on to 3 or 4 or 10... find one you can answer. Answering one question makes answering another just that much easier.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 223

Woe is me, I always get stuck at question 2........

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1022

These questions are by far the most used tool in my personal tool box. Life changing.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1853

In your quest to track your negative thoughts, you may have had trouble challenging them and you may now be wondering how to challenge them.

The following 10 questions will help you to challenge any negative thought. When you have a negative thought, try to answer these 10 questions:

1. What’s the evidence that the thought is true?

2. What’s the evidence that the thought is not true?

3. What is the worst possible thing that could happen and how would you cope if it did happen?

4. What’s the best possible thing that could happen?

5. What would most likely happen and how would you cope if that happened?

6. What’s another way of thinking about this situation? What else could be going on?

7. What would you tell a friend of yours if they were in this situation and had the same negative thought?

8. What’s the effect of believing the negative thought?

9. What would happen if you didn’t believe the negative thought?

10. What are some alternative thoughts in this situation?

Today we encourage you to look at your tracking results and share what patterns you have identified.

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Challenging Negative Thoughts