Overcoming Negative Thinking

Overcoming Negative Thinking

Chris Woolston  CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVE In the words of psychiatrist David Burns, MD, people who are depressed are often masters of illusion. Their pessimistic outlook -- and some unconscious tricks of the mind -- can turn triumphs into setbacks, and setbacks into personal failings. Those of us prone to depression may be successful and accomplished, but we're often plagued by negative thoughts about ourselves and our future. This thinking distorts our view of the world until everything seems dreary and hopeless. Burns is among the leading cognitive-behavior therapists, a group of psychiatrists and psychologists who think that changing negative, distorted thinking is crucial to overcoming depression. The tendency toward negative thinking isn't merely a symptom of depression, they say -- it's the root of the disease. Since our thoughts or "cognitions" shape our moods, positive thoughts can translate into an energetic, hopeful mood, while pervasive negative thoughts may cause us to sink into despair. A study of 349 college students published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology underscores this point. Students with pessimistic outlooks were eight times more likely than others to become depressed in the next two and a half years. But negative thoughts don't have to be a way of life -- and neither does depression. If you're in the grip of depression, you need to seek professional help for your illness; if the depression is accompanied by mania, hallucinations, or suicidal feelings, you need to get help immediately. Help can be a call to a crisis center, to your local mental health agency, to your primary care physician, or even to 911. The good news is that with time, effort, and treatment, even a crushing depression can lift. Many people who are depressed find relief through antidepressants or therapy: Interpersonal therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are two types that have been shown to be effective at dealing with even the most stubborn cases of the illness. But as an adjunct to treatment, therapists have developed a number of "self-care" exercises you can use to help you control your thoughts and moods. The idea that you can "unlearn" self-defeating ways of thinking that pave the way toward mood disorders is the basis of cognitive therapy, developed by Aaron T. Beck, MD, Burns, and others. In an updated version of his book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (Avon Books, 1999), Burns outlines a set of cognitive therapy techniques that people can use at home and at work to help boost their self-confidence and break the cycle of repeated depressions. His first set of exercises has to do with eliminating the distorted, self-defeating, and ultimately destructive thoughts that pave the way to depression. Negative thinking: The 10 grand illusions Before you can control destructive thoughts, of course, you have to recognize them. In his book Feeling Good, Burns identifies what he and other cognitive-behavioral therapists view as the 10 major mental or "cognitive" distortions that can open the door to depression. If you suffer from depression -- and you have plenty of company if you do -- some of these are bound to sound familiar. 1. All-or-nothing thinking. In this type of thinking, you're either a hero or a failure. Any small misstep marks you as a failure. This kind of thinking can lead to crippling perfectionism. 2. Overgeneralization. Whenever something bad happens, it's bound to happen again and again. If somebody you've idealized turns you down for a date, for example, you feel certain that the next person will, too. 3. The mental filter. You dwell on the downside of any situation while overlooking anything positive. If you're an editor, you may become obsessed with a typo that escaped into print rather than congratulating yourself for getting out a great issue. 4. Diminishing the positive. In this kind of thinking, you tend to twist positive events into negative ones. If you just got a raise, for example, you may put yourself down for not getting a bigger raise. 5. Jumping to conclusions. You become either a mind reader or a fortune teller -- whatever it takes to see trouble on the horizon. If a friend doesn't return a call, he secretly dislikes you. If you like your job, you'll probably lose it soon. 6. The binocular trick. It's as if you're wearing a special lenses that lets you see everything blown out of proportion. Little problems become monstrous; major victories, trifling. 7. Emotional reasoning. You believe mood reflects your true identity: You feel lousy because you are lousy. 8. 'Should' and 'must' thoughts. You constantly remind yourself of things you should or must do. (One expert calls this "musterbation.") At the end of the day, you feel buried in guilt and shame. You may also dwell on things that other people should or must do, setting yourself up for frustration and bitterness. 9. Labeling and mislabeling. You tend to equate your 'self' with what you do, and since everyone makes mistakes, over time you develop a negative self-image based on errors you've made. If you invested in a high-tech stock deal that blew up in your face, for example, you view yourself as a failure. Failure, loser, dummy: The labels stick. If you tend to label other people as well, you'll reap a lot of hostility. 10. Personalization. You assume responsibility for anything that goes wrong, even when it's not your fault. Burns calls this line of thinking "the mother of guilt." Writing away depression You may not be able to eliminate all these self-defeating thoughts, but you can keep them from wrecking your mood. To rid yourself of relentless self-criticism and distorted thoughts, Burns suggests spending 15 minutes every day capturing your thought process on paper. Looking at your thoughts on paper will allow you to search the list above to see what's distorted or "wrong" about them; next, take the time to come up with a fair and rational rebuttal. Whether you're depressed or just a bit down, the exercise may help you feel better within a couple of weeks. Here's his approach: Start by briefly describing an event that bothered you, perhaps a comment by your spouse or something that went wrong at work. Write down the emotions you felt. Were you mostly sad, mostly angry, a little of both? Record the thoughts that led to those emotions (such as, "My marriage is in deep trouble" or "I'm doing a lousy job"). It's important to write down the thoughts that led to the emotions rather than the emotions themselves, because if you write, "I feel awful," well, that's probably true. Instead, write down the thoughts that are causing you to feel awful, then decide which, if any, of the 10 categories above your thoughts fall into (Overgeneralization? Jumping to conclusions?). Once you identify the fallacies behind your negative thinking, you're ready to move forward. Look again at your thoughts and try to think of a more rational, optimistic response. For instance, "My marriage is in deep trouble" may give way to "My wife wasn't in a good mood today." You could counter "I'm doing a lousy job" with "I wasn't at my best today, but everyone makes mistakes" or "I still have some room to improve." You may find that the simple act of writing down your problems gives you some newfound power and control. Things just don't seem so overwhelming on paper. And if the exercise helps break the stream of negative thoughts and mental illusions, you'll have more protection against depression. Now that's a pleasant thought. -- Chris Woolston, M.S., is a health and medical writer with a master's degree in biology. He is a contributing editor at Consumer Health Interactive, and was the staff writer at Hippocrates, a magazine for physicians. He has also covered science issues for Time Inc. Health, WebMD, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. His reporting on occupational health earned him an award from the northern California Society of Professional Journalists.

New Chapter - TV-Movie quotes

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Captain Spock: What you want is irrelevant, what you have chosen is at hand. 

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1 (1990)

Capt. Picard: We may yet prevail. That's a... a conceit. But... it's a healthy one. I wonder if the Emperor Honorius watching the Visigoths coming over the seventh hill truly realized that the Roman Empire was about to fall. This is just another page in history, isn't it? Will this be the end of *our* civilization? Turn the page.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" Frame of Mind (1993)
Commander William T. Riker: What I need is to get out of this cell! I've been locked up in here for days. You've controlled my every move, you told me what to eat, what to think, what to say. And when I show a glimmer of independent thought, you strap me down, inject me with drugs and call it a 'treatment'.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" Time's Arrow: Part 1

Counselor Deanna Troi: Have you ever heard Data define friendship?
Commander William T. Riker: No.
Counselor Deanna Troi: How did he put it? "As I experience certain sensory input patterns, my mental pathways become accustomed to them. The inputs eventually are anticipated and even missed when absent."
  
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" Legacy (1990)
 
Ishara Yar: Are you able to have friends?
Lt. Commander Data: Yes.
Ishara Yar: But you don't have feelings, do you?
Lt. Commander Data: Not as such. However, even among humans, friendship is sometimes less an emotional response and more a sense of... familiarity.
Ishara Yar: So, you can become used to someone?
Lt. Commander Data: Exactly. As I experience certain sensory input patterns, my mental pathways become accustomed to them. The input is eventually anticipated, and even missed when absent.

&

Commander William T. Riker: In all trust, there is the possibility of betrayal. I'm not sure you were... prepared for that.

Lt. Commander Data: Were you prepared, sir?
Commander William T. Riker: I don't think anybody ever is.
Lt. Commander Data: Hm... Then it is better not to trust?
Commander William T. Riker: Without trust there's no friendship. No closeness. None of the emotional bonds that makes us who we are.
Lt. Commander Data: And yet you put yourself at risk?
Commander William T. Riker: Every single time.
Lt. Commander Data: Perhaps I am fortunate, sir - to be spared the emotional consequences.
Commander William T. Riker: Perhaps...


The Matrix Reloaded

Agent Smith: But, as you well know, appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason why we're here. We're not here because we're free. We're here because we're not free. There is no escaping reason; no denying purpose. Because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist.

[Several Agent Smith Clones walk in]

Agent Smith Clone 1: It is purpose that created us.
Agent Smith Clone 2: Purpose that connects us.
Agent Smith Clone 3: Purpose that pulls us.
Agent Smith Clone 4: That guides us.
Agent Smith Clone 5: That drives us.
Agent Smith Clone 6: It is purpose that defines us.
Agent Smith Clone 7: Purpose that binds us.
Agent Smith: We are here because of you, Mr Anderson. We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us.
[Attempts to copy himself into Neo]
Agent Smith: Purpose.


Merovingian:: Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère!

Morpheus: I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me.

Daniel 2.

3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream...

5 The thing is gone from me:.

Merovingian: Something to eat? Drink? Of course these things are contrivances, like so much here, for the sake of appearances.

Neo: No thankyou.
Merovingian: Yes, of course. Who has time? Who has time? But then if we never *take* time, how can we have time?


Merovingian: What is the reason? Soon the why and the reason are gone and all that matters is the feeling. This is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it; but it is of course a lie. Beneath our poised appearance we are completely out of control.