As we’ve seen, unhelpful, negative thought patterns can exacerbate anxiety and keep you stuck in that negative feedback loop. When you can challenge and change negative thought patterns, you can shut that loop down. The process of changing negative thought patterns is known as cognitive restructuring.
Cognitive restructuring is an evidence-based CBT technique used to challenge negative or unhelpful thoughts. The process works by identifying negative thought patterns and faulty beliefs and then gathering evidence to challenge the accuracy of the thoughts. The evidence is then used to develop more realistic thinking to support improved coping.
Your thoughts are powerful.
Your thoughts have a significant impact on how you feel. Feeling anxious or even panicky can be due in part to the negative thought patterns that feed those feelings. Left unchecked, negative thoughts, feelings and responses (anxiety in this case) get stuck in that vicious feedback loop that feels never-ending. By challenging these thoughts and developing more realistic thought patterns, we can break the cycle. Better coping means being able to look at yourself and the world in a more balanced and healthy way.
Cognitive restructuring is more than just deciding to “stop thinking negatively” although that’s probably the advice you get most of the time from family and friends. If it was that easy, everybody would do it.
Restructuring how you think about things takes work and it’s a process that requires some effort and some patience.
There are three main steps to changing your thinking through cognitive restructuring.
The first step of cognitive restructuring is to identify the thoughts underlying your distress or difficulty. One of the best ways to do that is to use your ABCs. As you identify your negative thoughts, you can record them in something like a Thought Diary or even your journal.
Sometimes, though, it is hard to stop what we’re doing to sit down and write it all down. If you’re feeling some intense anxiety, just remember the acronym S.T.O.P.
S – Stop what you are doing. Be still in the moment.
T – Take a moment and breathe. Slowly and deeply.
O – Observe and ask yourself some questions about what is happening.
P – Gain some perspective. Take a moment to record the thoughts you’re having to get a better perspective on what’s happening.
As you’re in the moment, ask yourself,
“What’s my inner dialogue right now? What am I saying to myself?”
“How do I feel?”
“What negative outcome do I think is going to happen?”
Thought diaries are really helpful for recording these experiences. Not only can you record your thoughts and feelings, you can also record the circumstances you’re in, influences and other factors. All of this information can help you to begin to see patterns. You can find a number of free thought diary templates online.
In the second step of cognitive restructuring, you’re going to play detective. Your job is to gather evidence that supports or debunks one or more of the negative thoughts you’re experiencing. Next, you’ll evaluate that evidence to determine whether the thoughts are positive and realistic or negative and faulty.
Gathering evidence can be hard sometimes. It isn’t always easy to immediately recognize our thoughts. Here are some evidence gathering questions you can use:
Is this a thought or is this a fact?
What would I say to my best friend if they were having this thought?
What do I think my best friend would say to me about this thought?
How many times has this thought I am having actually happened in the past? In other words, did the thing I worry about actually happen before? If so, how often does it occur?
Am I assuming possibility means certainty?
It may be possible, but is it likely?
If I was not feeling anxious would I still see the situation this way? How might I see it differently?
Once you’ve gathered your evidence, consider what it tells you.
In this third step of cognitive restructuring, you are going to develop a more balanced thinking approach aimed at improving how you feel and reduce your anxious response. Your goal is to change your perspective and begin to view situations with a more realistic perspective.
Using the evidence you’ve gathered, state your thoughts related to the experience in a more positive, realistic way. Then, just as you did for the negative statements, rate your belief in the new thought and whether it would have made you feel differently when the event happened.
Rating the new belief is important because believing in the thought is part of its role in your anxiety reduction. If you believe it is so, then your response will be congruent with the more realistic belief. Remember, thoughts influence feelings and feelings influence responses.
In the beginning, you’ll probably need to use a template or thought diary to help guide you through the steps. Over time, you’ll learn to go through the steps internally and quickly. As you gain skill, you’ll be able to recognize those faulty thinking patterns and make adjustments.
You can overcome your anxiety and the patterns that keep you from moving forward. With some practice, you can say goodbye to your anxiety.
Good tool and I have used this recently but it does need motivation to use it. As I have been told by my fatigue service, your brain is in a box and can’t see what is happening so will react/believe what you tell it. So this can calm your brain from sending messages to panic, as you correct your negative thoughts. Definitely worth trying
I sing with a voice coach. I recently gained all the weight I had loss back and I was complaining about the size of my stomach. She had me instead thank my stomach for being such a great support to my breath technique in singing. This completely changed my mind set. So while I focus back on mindful eating and movement I will continue to thank my entire body structure for allowing me to have proper posture and breathing that allows me to fill
My voice with song.
Very helpful technique.