TRAUMA AND HOW TO CHALLENGE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Automatic negative thoughts influence emotions and distort our perception of reality in a negative way. These thoughts are difficult to recognize because they are fleeting and habitual. Negative thoughts can make us feel agitated, anxious, be less productive, cause harm to our relationships, or cause psychological damage.

Most of our thoughts occur automatically. This is how humans were designed – to be efficient. Automatic thoughts are helpful when it comes to doing daily general tasks, such as brushing your teeth, eating a meal, and getting dressed. However, because it is habitual and automatic, we may not pay much attention to it.

Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTS) are negative beliefs that occur habitually. They are involuntary responses to certain situations that are based on core beliefs that you hold about yourself, others, and the world. ANTS can lead to self-doubt, anger, depression, irritability and anxiety. While you cannot directly control these automatic thoughts, you can alter your beliefs in a positive way.

The six criteria for measuring automatic negative thoughts include:

1.       Always negative

2.       Makes you feel bad about yourself

3.       Self-sabotaging and tends to stop you from helping yourself

4.       Uninvited and judging you when you least expect it

5.       Believable because you are stuck in a negative thinking trap

6.       Biased because you are experiencing a distorted perception of reality

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is helpful in challenging negative thoughts.

The theory of CBT is that thoughts lead to feelings which lead to behaviors. When we are stuck in negative thinking traps, our feelings result from these thoughts. When we can recognize these distorted thought patterns, we can change our thoughts and experience a more positive feeling.

The challenge here then is to counter the negative belief with a positive belief and start practicing this new thought on a daily basis. This will create a new neurological pattern in your brain and help you change the negative thoughts.

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