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Scottydog
United Kingdom
330 Posts |
 Posted - 02/17/2006 : 07:10:16
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This is advice from the book Say Goodnight to Insomnia by Gregg Jacobs on changing your automatic negative thoughts which some of you might find useful. It has helped me when journalling to develop a more honest approach to relationships with others. It is paraphrased so I hope the sense hasn't been lost.
NATs
Negative automatic thoughts are like knee-jerk reactions to life events that occur almost unconsciously without any effort. They typically involve worst-case scenarios and seem so real that we don’t stop to question them and we believe them as if they were facts or absolute truths. Eg you get a message your boss wants to see you immediately,
your NATs might be :
“Oh, not, not again!”
“What did I do wrong?”
“What now?”
“Am I going to lose my job?”
Because they are stressful and overpowering they take precedence in our thinking. Thus, we forget positive events easily and have a more difficult time ridding stressful events from our minds.
Recognising NATs - negative automatic thoughts
The first step is to become more aware of NATs. Many people have difficulty with this step because NATs are so automatic. The most effective way to recognize NATs is to track them in writing. Each day, choose one or two stressful situations that triggered negative emotions and briefly describe the situations in the column labelled “Situation”. Next, record the NATs that filter through your mind before and during the stressful situation in the column labeled "NATs". What was I saying to myself about the situation that contributed to my feelings of stress?
After learning to become aware of NATs using the Cognitive Restructuring Diary, the next step is to reframe them by writing down more accurate, adaptive thoughts about stressful situations. The third column of the diary, labelled “Reframed Thought” is used for this purpose.
First, ask yourself the following key questions:
1. Is this thought really true?
2 Am I over emphasizing a negative aspect of this situation?
3 What is the worst thing that will happen?
4 Is there anything that might be positive about this situation?
5 Am I catastrophising, awfulising, jumping to conclusions, and assuming a negative outcome.
6 How do I know this situation will turn out this way?
7 Is there another way to look at this situation?
8 What difference will this make next week, month or year.
9 If I had one month to live, how important would this be?
10 Am I using words such as never, always, worst, terrible or horrible to describe this situation?
Second, use the double standard technique developed by Dr Burns. When it comes to explaining stressful events, we are often much harder on ourselves than we are on our friends. We have realistic and fair standards that we apply to others whom we care about yet we set unrealistic standards for ourselves. Ask yourself would you say this to a close friend with a similar problem? If not, what would you say to them?
Third, reflect on past experience and ask yourself, “Has anything like this happened to me in the past and, if so, how did it turn out”. By doing so, we can often prove to ourselves that many of the things we worry about never happen, or don’t turn out as badly as we have imagined.
Optimism
1 View setbacks as temporary.
2 Avoid generalizing a problem to your whole life.
3 Refrain from dismissing positive events as temporary or due to luck or external causes.
4 Avoid blaming yourself for things beyond your control.
5 Use optimistic affirmations – positive beliefs that are repeated to yourself regularly.
6. Practice an attitude of gratitude. Focus on what you have and the positive aspects of your life.
7 Seek out optimists and avoid pessimists.
The three Cs
Control – practice relaxation response and cognitive restructuring.
Commitment – View change as normal, constant and a challenge not a threat.
Be involved in something greater than yourself; work, family , religion, community.
No Man is an Island.
Social Support – Share feelings – Receive helpful suggestions – social activity, empathy, camaraderie.
Control Anger, Laugh Stress Away.
Anne
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Negative Automatic Thoughts
