Redirecting Your Automatic Negative Thoughts
I was watching a PBS special recently with Daniel Amen, M.D. speaking on the topic of helping your brain to function at its best. He is the author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. At one point he was talking about our thought process and said, "Having a thought has nothing to do with whether or not it is true."
Interestingly, he spoke of his own experience with having panic when he first went on the air many years ago. He described the fight or flight feeling he had at that time and the wish to flee the situation. He said the things he did to help himself were to slow down his breathing (taking twice as long to exhale than inhale) and to challenge his automatic negative thoughts (which he refers to as "killing his ANTS"). He now speaks regularly and seems to be very comfortable as a speaker.
So, how does he suggest that we "kill" (or redirect) our Automatic Negative Thoughts? He recommends writing down your automatic negative thoughts in a log, similar to how it is done in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In this type of approach, you would make three columns in your log. The first column would be for your automatic negative thoughts, the second column would note what type of cognitive distortion(s) are present in the thoughts you are having, and the third column would be for writing down more positive, reality-based thoughts to focus on instead.
You can find a list of the ten most common cognitive distortions in my In the SpotLight book (Chapter 7) or in a handout adapted from David Burn's book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (http://www.apsu.edu/sites/apsu.edu/files/counseling/COGNITIVE_0.pdf). These types of distortions often happen in our thinking when we have strong negative emotions that make it hard to perceive things more positively and realistically.
Going through this type of exercise helps us to get some distance from our thoughts so we can more objectively examine them and identify (and challenge) the distortions. Once we get some distance from the emotional charge of our negative thoughts, it becomes easier to come up with more positive, realistic and adaptive ways of thinking.
Here are a few examples to get you started:
ANT: I am going to look so anxious that people will wonder what is wrong with me.
Distortion: Fortune Telling, Mind Reading
Adaptive Thought: I am not sure how anxious I will look to others. I need to focus on my message and my purpose in being there rather than make this event about me and whether or not people will notice if I am anxious.
ANT: I was so anxious in my last presentation and it seems like that is bound to happen each time I have to present.
Distortion: Overgeneralization
Adaptive Thought: I know I was very uncomfortable last time I presented but there is no evidence to suggest it will happen each time. The good news is that I got through it despite being very anxious. If I am anxious in any future presentations, I have to practice using the tools I have learned to better manage it so it doesn't feel so overwhelming.
ANT: I am out of control when I feel so fearful and have all of these physical symptoms.
Distortion: Emotional Reasoning
Adaptive Thought: My body is reacting to a surge of stress hormones when I am feeling a lot of fear. While it feels very uncomfortable, it doesn't mean I am out of control. The part I can control is doing what I can to not overreact to these feelings and sensations so I can begin to calm and ground myself rather than fuel the fear by becoming afraid of what I am experiencing.
I encourage you to start logging your ANTS and notice the type of distortions that are present in your thought patterns. And, most importantly, come up with more positive, adaptive and reality oriented ways of thinking so you can support and empower yourself and become less reactive to your ANTS.
Action Steps:
1. Keep an ANTS log for the coming month to become more aware of your automatic negative thoughts. Identify the types of distortions in these thoughts and come up with more positive, adaptive ways of thinking that are reality based. These thoughts would be along the same lines as the supportive words you would speak to a friend or loved one who was having a similar struggle. You can continue using your log regularly or use it as needed to help you get "unstuck" from any automatic negative thinking that comes up with future speaking or performing challenges.
