Our Thoughts Aren’t Always True
As we move through daily life, we all have a steady stream of thoughts going through our minds. Thoughts that are often held within, only for us to know. A majority of these thoughts happen very quickly, as we evaluate the significance of events all around and within us. They can happen so quickly that sometimes we may not be fully aware that they’re even occurring. Like a steady humming in the background. In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), these types of thoughts are called automatic thoughts.
We all have automatic thoughts. However, when someone is struggling with depression or anxiety, for example, there can be themes to automatic thoughts. In the case of depression, automatic thoughts commonly center around feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, or failure. In the case of anxiety, automatic thoughts commonly center around themes of fear of harm or danger, uncontrollability, or beliefs that we can’t cope.
Automatic thoughts with these types of themes can contribute to emotional distress. For example, a steady stream of thoughts that are saying things like “I messed up again... I’ll never be good enough... this always happens to me” could understandably contribute to sadness or despair. In another example, a stream of thoughts saying things like “I can’t manage all of this... how will I ever get this done” could understandably contribute to nervousness or dread.
It's important to note that even though our thoughts can have a lot to say, it doesn’t mean what they’re saying is true. Our thoughts may be completely true, completely untrue, or somewhere in the middle. With mindful awareness, we can take note of our automatic thoughts and become curious about them. Are these thoughts helpful? What themes do I notice? Do I see room for change?
One sign that can let us know that our automatic thoughts may be impacting us is if we notice sudden changes to emotion or engagement with an unhealthy behavior. For example, if we suddenly feel anxiety, we can reflect on what our thoughts were saying prior to that shift. Or, if we find ourselves mindlessly eating after dinner, we could consider what thoughts preceded that behavior. Changes to our emotions and behaviors can let us know that related thoughts may be worthy of greater recognition and understanding.
If We notice room for change, these types of cognitive-behavioral strategies can help us work with automatic thoughts:
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