Cognitive Therapy

Change negative thoughts for positive ones and feel good about yourself.

Cognitive Therapy: How It Can Help with Negative Thoughts

What are negative thoughts? They reflect a way of thinking that pulls you down instead of lifting you up. Here’s an example. Let’s say that you are at the carnival about to play a game. Games are fun. Before you throw the ball or zap the clown mouth with your water gun, a thought runs through your head. “I won’t win anyway. I don’t even know why I’m playing.”

In an instant, all the energy and the fun are sapped from you. You play anyway, but while looking at others who are also playing instead of focusing on your performance. You have already been defeated. At this point, even if you win, you think of it as a fluke and don’t allow yourself the joy of the win.

Does this sound familiar? If it does, you could benefit from cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is a part of a larger group of therapies designed to change your life by addressing your thought patterns. First, you have to realize that you are beset by negativity. Then, you set about working on changing your thoughts and your perspective to better your life in general.

You will have to do some heavy lifting here. By that we mean homework. Cognitive therapy works best when put into practice – constantly. Your therapist will help you to recognize negative thinking and then show you how to discover the how and why behind them.

One part of the process that will get at the heart of negative thinking is thought records. You may be asked about what areas of your life that you would like to change. If your thoughts are dooming you, then a thought record can shed new light.

Here is how they work. Whenever you have a negative thought, write it down (you’ll probably want to carry a pen and paper pad with you). Do this whenever you have a negative thought.

Next, consider where those negative thoughts originated. Most of us form our thinking patterns in childhood and from experiences we’ve had. Write that down too.

The next part is about crafting positive alternative thoughts to replace those negative ones. This step helps you to rise up and get a bird’s eye view of your situation where it doesn’t look so dismal. Also, create coping mechanisms to recognize what triggers those negative thoughts in the first place so you can cut them off at the pass.

Are you dealing with dissatisfaction in your life? It could be attributed to the way that you are thinking. Maybe cognitive therapy can help.