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The thoughts you have, no matter how distorted, create your emotions- which feel real no matter how distorted the thought is.
I love his notion on should statements, because setting yourself up for feeling like a failure usually starts with should statements. By using alternate wording you can significantly improve your thoughts and thereby your mood.
I like his idea to write down the thoughts that led to the negative emotion, such as always or never statements. Then uncoil these distorted statements and restructure the way you think about them, by using your rational thought. Then talk to your inner critic. An example would be if I thought nobody ever helps me clean the house and I am the only person who cares. Then I feel upset as the family plays and I clean and the upset builds until I am mad. I created this. So I would write down the thought, and then I would figure out which method of distorted thinking I used and then write my rational response. Am I really the only one who cares? No. Do people really never help me? The answer is no, so what is rational ? Going through this motion enough you should be able to stop distorted thinking in its tracks.
The book was heavily written for those with severe depression, which I don’t have and don’t understand that whole world as much as I should. But I think everyone can connect to distorted thinking and upset moods- so I find the book helpful for most anybody.
I love his notion on should statements, because setting yourself up for feeling like a failure usually starts with should statements. By using alternate wording you can significantly improve your thoughts and thereby your mood.
I like his idea to write down the thoughts that led to the negative emotion, such as always or never statements. Then uncoil these distorted statements and restructure the way you think about them, by using your rational thought. Then talk to your inner critic. An example would be if I thought nobody ever helps me clean the house and I am the only person who cares. Then I feel upset as the family plays and I clean and the upset builds until I am mad. I created this. So I would write down the thought, and then I would figure out which method of distorted thinking I used and then write my rational response. Am I really the only one who cares? No. Do people really never help me? The answer is no, so what is rational ? Going through this motion enough you should be able to stop distorted thinking in its tracks.
The book was heavily written for those with severe depression, which I don’t have and don’t understand that whole world as much as I should. But I think everyone can connect to distorted thinking and upset moods- so I find the book helpful for most anybody.