How to BEGIN to Think SMART and Feel BETTER

Many people think that when we feel bad and experience symptoms of depression or anxiety, then our feelings “make” us think negative and sad or angry thoughts. Actually, what we now know is that often, people who are experiencing depression or anxiety have the negative thoughts FIRST. These distorted, negative, pessimistic thoughts then begin to produce the ‘bad’ feelings; the feelings in turn produce more distorted thinking, making the symptoms even more difficult to overcome. The important thing to note here is that the distorted thoughts are usually ‘automatic’ in nature. This means that the person is probably not even aware of his or her automatic, distorted thoughts, but that these thoughts automatically enter the thinking patterns in a continual manner and across different situations in life.

Put more simply, your automatic thoughts and interpretations of a situation or circumstance can have a very big impact on how you feel. Psychologists have identified several negative thinking patterns that are common to people who struggle with feelings of anxiety and depression.

Three common types of negative thinking patterns are identified and described below. Review these and begin to identify which ones may be impacting how you feel.

1. Catastrophizing: When something happens, you blow it completely out of proportion and think of the worst possible outcome.

The boss told Jenny that the budget is tight and there would no longer be funds for hiring an intern. Mary thought, “This is awful. She probably wants to fire me and this is her way of prepping me for the bad news.”

2. Black or White Thinking: You view people or situations, or even yourself as entirely bad or entirely good—nothing in -between.

When Mark presented his proposal to his dissertation committee, they interrupted so many times with questions, he went over his allotted hour for the presentation. Mark immediately thought, “They didn’t like my ideas; I barely got to finish the presentation.”

3. Judging:  You are overly critical of your self or others; your use of should have, ought to, must, have to, and should not have is very frequent.

Jan made a sales presentation to a client. The client was very attentive and made comments about being impressed with the product. Jan thought, “I spent too much time trying to explain myself. I should have been more prepared.”

Remember to review these and begin to identify which ones may be impacting how you feel. Knowing how and why you feel bad is a first step to feeling better!