Managing Unhelpful Thoughts
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) emphasises identifying and managing "unhelpful thoughts", these can be negative thinking patterns that can impact our emotional wellbeing and sometimes our behaviours. They may include automatic, or intrusive thoughts (such as "I’m not good enough,") which can foster low self-esteem or core beliefs about ourselves, others, or the world (e.g., "I’m unlovable") shaping how we interpret situations or interact in our environment. By challenging these unhelpful thoughts, CBT helps us open to new perspectives and encourage alternative emotions and behaviours. Below are some of the examples of the strategies, to find out more, you might like to book an appointment, or look more into CBT resources as an option for you.
Mental Filtering: This involves focusing on negative aspects of situations while being unable to see the positives, like getting to the end of the day, and only remembering all the things we’ve done wrong rather than anything that has gone right, leading to a distorted, pessimistic perspective.
· Strategy: Gratitude Journal Recording three positive moments daily, no matter how small, helps redirect focus and building our ability to see the good things in life.
Jumping to Conclusions: Assuming we’re able to read or predict others people’s thoughts or feelings, often without evidence, can lead to feelings of self-blame or anxiety.
· Strategy: Fact-Checking We want to separate facts from our feelings by objectively evaluating evidence, to build a more balanced and realistic view.
Personalisation: This involves feeling responsible, or taking blame for things that have happened, or things that may have been outside of our control, creating feelings of guilt and stress.
· Strategy: Responsibility Pie Picture all the factors, or individuals contributing to an event by dividing a "responsibility pie," and clarify your true level of control over events.
Labelling: Is where we reduce ourselves or others to a single negative descriptor, like “failure” or “worthless.” Where self-worth or parts of an individual depend heavily on one aspect—such as appearance, weight, or career success—while other aspects are overlooked. For instance, someone might label themselves as "not good enough" based solely on body image, ignoring other positive traits and skills.
· Strategy: Parts Theory Recognise that one action does not define your entire character. Embrace all the different parts of yourself, promoting a more balanced self-image.
Overgeneralising: This is the kind of comment we tend to hear in arguments, sweeping statements based on a single event, like "You always…," “I never….” which perpetuates negative beliefs.
· Strategy: Stack the Deck Combat overgeneralisation by looking for exceptions, we want to actively remember times when the opposite was true, times when we felt success (if we feel like a failure), or times when we experienced kindness (if we feel like the world is always cruel), creating a belief that other alternatives are possible.
Catastrophising: Is when we imagine the worst possible outcome in any situation, leading to heightened anxiety and fear.
· Strategy: Dice Theory The worst outcome is possible, so we can’t dismiss it. We want to include the additional possibilities, to accept that our worst-case scenario isn’t the only possibility. We build enough alternatives to fit on a dice (at least 5 more than our worst-case scenario) to encourage a more flexible perspective on what could happen.
Emotional Reasoning: This is when our perception of reality is based on our feelings at time, assuming "because I feel bad, things must be bad."
· Strategy: Opposite Action When emotions misalign with reality, try actions that counter these feelings. For example, reach out to a friend if you feel isolated, helping you view situations from a balanced perspective.
Magnification and Minimisation: This pattern involves magnifying the strengths of our friends while we are minimising your own, often leading to low self-esteem.
· Strategy: Self-Compassion Exercise Imagine giving supportive advice to a friend in your situation. Apply this same understanding to yourself to foster a balanced self-view.
Black & White Thinking: Seeing things as all good or all bad simplifies complex situations, often leading to polarised thinking and distress.
· Strategy: Dialectical Thinking Practice recognising that multiple truths can coexist, such as "I can excel at some things while struggling with others," promoting a nuanced perspective.
Shoulding and Musting: Setting rigid expectations, like "I should always succeed," creates stress and promotes self-criticism.
· Strategy: Non-Judgmental Awareness Rephrase "should" statements as observations, reducing pressure and encouraging self-acceptance.
Perfectionism / Unrelenting Standards: Sometimes we get stuck in an all-or-nothing mindset, making it challenging to start or complete tasks unless we think we can complete them flawlessly, or we are never happy with ourselves as we never feel we have met appropriate standards.
· Strategy: Setting Acceptable Standards Try to identify what would be acceptable, then what would be “above average” and what you would classify as “a good try”. Trying to establish a more realistic benchmark for yourself encourages progress and reduces pressure, making it easier to accomplish tasks.
Positive Thinking Patterns with CBT
Recognising and managing unhelpful thoughts is central to CBT. This is only a summary of some of the techniques, and like any new skill, they take practice to build and develop but can be part of a toolkit for managing more constructive responses to life’s challenges.
To find out more, https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself
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