Negative self-defeating thoughts are the basis of depression. Depressed people see themselves and the world around them – as well as the future – in negative terms. This occurs because of major distortions in thinking.
The first distortion is selective perception i.e., perceving only certain stimuli in a larger array. If five good things and three bad things happen during the day, depressed people focus only on the bad things.
All or Nothing Thinking
The second thinking error is overgeneralization. The tendency to think that an upsetting event applies to ther unrelated situations. An example would be considering yourself a total failure, completely worthless, if you were to lose a part-time job or fail a test in school. To complete the picture, depressed individiuals tend to magnify the importance of undesirable events by engaging in all-or-nothing thinking. That is, they see events as completly good or bad, right or wrong, and themselves as either successful or failing miserably (J.S. Beck, 2002),
Keeping Track
To break the pattern, make a step-by-step effort to correct negative thoughts that lead to depression or similar problems. Recognize and keep track of your own thoughts. Identify beliefs and ideas that cause anger and depression, as well as avoidance.
List your activities for the past week. Now use the list to challenge your all-or-nothing thoughts. Such as “I had a terrible week” or “Im a complete failure.” By seeing all that was accomplished during the past week you can change your thoughts and improve your mood, actions and relationships.
Better Than Drugs
This approach is as good as any drug for treating many types of depression. More importantly, people who have adopted new ways of thinking are less likely to become depressed again – something that drugs can’t do.
Study the following short list of coping statements and use them to counteract negative thoughts.
Preparing for Stressful Situations
• I’ll just take one step at a time.
• If I get nervous I’ll just pause for a moment.
• Tomorrow I will be through it.
• I’ve managed to do this before.
• Precisely what do I need to do?
Confronting the Stressful Situation
• Relax, this can’t really hurt me.
• Stay focused on the task at hand.
• There’s no hurry. Take it step by step.
• Nobody’s perfect. I’ll just do my best.
• Just be calm. It will be over soon.
Just saying the words to yourself might not be enough. You must actually practice the approach in real-life stress situations. Develop you own personal list of coping statements by finding what works best for you.
Remember that much of your stress is self-generated. Knowing that you can manage a demanding situation is a major antidote for stress.
Learning this and other stress management skills can not only reduce anxiety and depression but improve your self-esteem as well.
Humor as Antidote
Another self-help idea worth cultivating is humor. A good sense of humor can lower your distress/stress reaction to difficult events. Having the ability to laugh at life’s ups and downs is also an antidote to disease. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself and the many ways we all make life difficult for ourselves. Remember this little quote: “don’t sweat the small stuff” and don’t forget “it’s all small stuff.”
Humor is one of the best antidotes for anxiety and emotional distress because it helps put things into perspective. The vast majority of events are only as stressful as you allow them to be.
Have some fun. It’s perfectly healthy.
This report is not a diagnosis. We hope this information can guide you toward improving your life.
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