The average person has anywhere between 12,000-60,000 thoughts a day. For many people, the majority of those thoughts are negative and seem to be the immediate or automatic response to a situation. These thoughts are what we call automatic negative thoughts. Although we have a multitude of thoughts daily, not every thought is true. Automatic negative thoughts which we can call ANTS are often our body’s fight or flight response to perceived anxiety or negative circumstances.
Here are some questions we can ask ourselves in order to address negative thinking or step on the ANTS:
Is this thought true?
Is it absolutely true?
How does this thought make me feel?
How would I feel if I didn’t have this thought?
Here’s an example of a negative thought and how to address it: I am so stupid because I got a D in math class.
Is this thought true?- I think so. Smart people don’t get D’s in math.
Is it absolutely true?- Maybe not, I think I'm pretty good at history, english, music and gym class. I’m just really bad at math.
How does this thought make me feel?- It makes me feel like a failure and like I will never be successful.
How would I feel if I didn’t have this thought?- I would feel like I could accomplish anything.
If you feel like negative thinking is inhibiting your life, this is your reminder that you are in control! Thoughts are simply thoughts and we are the ones who assign meaning to them. It is important to address negative thoughts so that we are not overwhelmed by them. The amazing thing about the human brain is that we have neuroplasticity, meaning that we can always change and rewire our thoughts to go from negative to positive.
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