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Thoughts cause feelings, according to conventional psychology. This is the essential insight of modern cognitive therapy. Nearly all of the cognitive techniques that have been developed and refined over the last seven decades flow out of this simple idea that thoughts cause feelings, and that many emotions are preceded and caused by a thought. In other words, events by themselves have little or no emotional content. It is the interpretation of the event that causes the emotion.
The ABCs of Perception
Over two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus said that “men are disturbed not by events, but by the views which they take of them.” It is your interpretation, your perception of an event that causes your emotions.
In cognitive therapy, this is often represented as the ABC model of emotion, where A is the activating event, your description of the event or situation, and can include your perception as you saw it. The B stands for beliefs. Your thoughts and attitudes about the event in which you have confidence. Beliefs include your self-talk or automatic thoughts, the voice inside your head that tells you how to feel about the activating event. There is always at least one belief that follows your awareness of an activating event. The C represents the consequences or outcome. It is what happens as a result of your beliefs about an activating event. The key points to remember are that you control your beliefs and self-talk. While positive beliefs and self-talk tend to lead to positive consequences, negative beliefs and self-talk lead to undesirable or negative consequences.
With cognitive therapy, we are advised that by changing our thoughts and beliefs about the event, we can then change the feelings or consequences. It also places an emphasis on examining a person’s perceptions of the experience.
How You View the Event
What causes your feelings? Why do we feel one way and not another? Sometimes we fall into the trap of assuming our feelings and behaviors are caused by events that occur in our lives. Many people assume that a situtation, or activating event, make them feel or act in a certain way.
However, research studies have shown that our feelings and behaviors are the result of our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes. In other words, how we think about a situation will determine the consequences of that situation. Our feelings and behaviors are the consequences of what we think about a situation.
Guessing Game
Many of our thoughts and beliefs were learned as children, most of which may no longer be valid. When our thoughts, beliefs and judgements are wrong because they are based on information that comes easily to mind rather than actual probability, the consequences can be quite negative. Heuristics teaches that many people make decisions based on probability and can often be wrong. “Gut feelings” therefore are merely guesses.
Emotion-Based Decisions
Further complicating cognitive therapy was Robert Zajonc’s (1923-2005) argument in 1980 that feelings and thoughts are actually quite independent from one another. He believed that feelings not only precede thoughts during a person’s complex response to an event or stimulus, but are actually the most powerful determinants of a person’s attitudes and decisions. The announcement brought the study of “emotion” back to the forefront. His theory bore important implications for the study of decision-making processes. It suggests that contrary to what we may believe, it is not reason and logic that guide our decisions. In fact, we make fast, instinctive emotion-based decisions before we have even had a chance to consider the choice cognitively. We make judgements without information every day.
Emotions Override Sex Drive
The study of emotions was furthered in Dr. Paul Ekman’s book “Emotions Revealed,” 2003, where he states the emotions can be more powerful than the Freudian drives of sex, hunger, and even the will to live. For example, embarrassment or fear can override libido, preventing a satisfactory sex life. Extreme unhappiness can even override the will to live.
We Are Not Our Thoughts
No discussion of thoughts can be complete without mention of mindfulness practice. This is how you can learn to observe thought processes for what they are – without judgement and choosing to not act upon them, but to just allow them to go away. Thoughts are just thoughts. We don’t have to identify with them. In mindfulness practice we realize our minds have a life of their own. A thought of failure, as an example, is seen simply as an event, not as a launching pad to the conclusion like “I am a failure.” Mindfulness teaches that we are not our thoughts.
This report is not a diagnosis. We hope this information can guide you toward improving your life.
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