Coping Skills -Thought Stopping

Looking back to last weeks discussion, we saw that a situation will lead to thoughts which in turn will lead to a response.   When I really think about it and am honest about it, the never ending thoughts, not the situation itself that causes most of the turmoil in my life, in terms of depression.  The way you process the thought will determine your response. 

The model looks something like this when put in words.

• A situation evolves, or a memory of a situation.
• Thoughts emerge from the situation. These thoughts may be founded, but quite often they are unfounded and distorted, irrational and obsessive. 
• We act on the irrational thoughts, not on the rational ones

Some of the negative/irrational thoughts one might find them selves thinking in certain situations are:

All or Nothing Thinking

One is unable to see things in shades of grey, only in black or white, absolutes.   In this way compromise is difficult.

Overgeneralizing

One views a negative event as a never ending pattern of defeat over and over again   Words often heard are always or never.

Mental Filter

One dwells on a specific negative ignoring the positive4

Discounting Positives

Insisting your positives and accomplishments do not count

Jumping to conclusions

You conclude things are bad without any real solid evidence

    Mindreading-you assume people are reacting negatively against you
    fortunetelling you predict that things will turn out a certain way

Magnification or Minimization

You blow things out of proportion or shrink their importance

Emotional Reasoning

Saying things like I feel bad so I must be bad

Should Statements

Criticizing yourself with shoulds and musts

Labeling

Instead of saying one made a mistake one says they are a looser a jerk etc.

Blame

Blaming yourself for something you weren't responsible for.  Or blame some one else when you have contributed to the problem

Many of these thoughts can be obsessive and compulsive as in the case of an accident where you continually relive it over an over again (wishing you had driven a different route), or the affects of an abusive relationships for instance (thinking you could have done things differently), or a rape (thinking if you had just run faster).  If we obsess on these thoughts they are taking control of us, and will cause us no end of stress and anxiety, they will add to our illness.

How do we learn to stop irrational and negative thinking patterns as listed above?   One part of Cognitive Restructuring is a technique called "Thought Stopping".  This is a very simple to do once you have learned and mastered it.  The basis, is to choose a thought that seems to often come to mind and

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