Thought Challenging

This is the first in a series of posts that will be about an important skill called thought challenging. I have been looking at a lot of research recently about this skill. Many of the most recent trials have been consistently showing that thought challenging (even by itself without any other skills being taught) can result in large improvements in symptoms of anxiety and depression. It’s an important skill and so I thought I would go over it in detail starting from the basics in this post, then moving on to more advanced techniques in the next posts. This might be revision for some of you that know this skill well but hopefully it will be a good reminder to notice your thinking more and start challenging the ones that cause stress, frustration and pain. 

Here is what you need to know:

• If you can figure out what you are thinking then you have a chance to understand what is causing your mood to change.
• If you can challenge your unhelpful thoughts you can change your mood.
• The easy way to challenge thoughts is to recognize that the thought is unhelpful. The harder (but more effective) way is to challenge whether the thought is actually true.
• Doing written thought challenging exercises is essential. Doing it in your head will only help a little.

ABOUT UNHELPFUL THOUGHTS

Thoughts are the things we say to ourselves in our heads and the beliefs we have. They may come in the form of thoughts, images or memories. Thoughts play a powerful role in determining how we feel and behave. Thoughts happen all the time. Some thoughts are deliberate but some thoughts occur more automatically. Even though we may not always be aware of our thoughts, they’re always there – even when we sleep! Research tells us that difficult life events like trauma causes people to have lots of unrealistic and unhelpful thoughts.

While the thoughts we can have are limitless, almost all thoughts fall within 3 main categories: Positive thoughts, Neutral Thoughts and Negative Thoughts.

Positive thoughts: It’s ok if I make mistakes. It’s not a big deal because lots of people have trouble with this. I don’t have to be so harsh on myself.

Neutral thoughts: I wonder what I should do this afternoon?

Negative thoughts: I’m not normal. I have serious issues that will never change. I am definitely getting worse. I can’t seem to do even basic things that other people can.

CHALLENGING UNHELPFUL THOUGHTS

While it is near impossible to change the way you feel by telling yourself not to feel something, research tells us that it is possible to change the way we feel by challenging unrealistic and unhelpful thoughts.

The steps to Thought Challenging are:

1.            Recognise the Thought

2.            Question the Thought

Most thoughts that lead to strong negative emotions are both unrealistic and unhelpful:

1.            Negative thoughts are often unrealistic since they do not accurately reflect how probable a feared outcome actually is. The thought “Everyone at work thinks that I am incompetent” can easily overestimate how likely it is that other people think this way. You can challenge this by looking at how probable the negative prediction is.

2.            Negative thoughts are often unhelpful since they have a high cost if you think them. Sometimes thoughts might be realistic but their effects have negative consequences that keep us stuck. The thought “My husband could have been in an accident” is possible (but highly unlikely); however, the impact of this thought has a very high cost. Thinking this way might cause you to text or call your husband constantly. Over the long term, this type of thinking doesn’t even keep your or others safe but it will make you feel more and more miserable. You can challenge the unhelpfulness of a thought by looking at the cost of thinking that way.

Clients often tell say that it is helpful to:

1.            Check your thinking when you notice a drop in your mood or an increase in your anxiety – many people find this is a signal that they might be having negative or unrealistic thoughts.

2.            Start thinking about a previous situation where you felt depressed or anxious and try to think about what you were thinking – this can help to dig up common negative thoughts.

3.            Guess what you might be thinking – Many people find that their guesses are pretty accurate and that challenging the thoughts that come up is a helpful start.

And, most of all, remember to WRITE YOUR THOUGHTS DOWN and challenge them in a written format. It is very important to write out your thoughts when you think of them and challenge them on paper to start with. It’s ok to do it in your head as well but to get full benefit, it is best to challenge your thoughts on paper.

The techniques for challenging thoughts will be covered in the next post. If you are keen to learn the skills now, do a youtube search for: cognitive behavioral therapy OR cognitive restructuring.