Challenging Your Negative Thoughts to Change Your Mindset

By Vanessa Williams, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

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There is a strong interconnection among one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. As a situation unfolds, our thoughts regarding the situation influence our feelings towards it; as a result, we behave in a way consistent with the thoughts and feelings that have been generated to impact the ongoing process in a cyclical manner¹. Such behaviour has the potential to reinforce our thoughts, which propels the cycle even further. An example of this can be seen in someone who struggles with depression. Having thoughts related to feeling not good enough might bring up feelings of heaviness and despair. These, in turn, influence one’s behaviour, perhaps leading them to choose to stay home rather than attend an event. 

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In this way, their thoughts have reinforced their feelings, and their behaviour now reinforces the thoughts, which brings up more negative thoughts that propel similar feelings. Psychologist Aaron Beck, the founder of a school of therapy called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, observed that many of his depressed patients experienced negative spontaneous thoughts; ruminating on these thoughts, or thinking about them repeatedly, caused them to believe they were accurate². 

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It is important to recognize that emotions are simply your body’s reaction to what you are thinking³. Oftentimes, thoughts are unconscious, and we may not be fully aware of them. Sometimes, our unconscious mind picks up external cues from our environment and forms an automatic emotional response to such cues, which informs our emotions without our present awareness. However, the majority of the time it is the “mental filter” that directly causes one’s emotional reaction to a situation³. 

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This is where challenging such thoughts can make a difference. By working to identify your negative automatic thoughts, you can train yourself to replace them with more realistic and rational ones². As a result, negative thought patterns can be minimized, and the maintenance cycle can be broken. The 3C’s of cognitive restructuring are catch it, check it, change it⁴. Working to raise your awareness of such thoughts, challenge them as they occur, and provide alternatives to move from an emotional to a more rational, evidence-based thought can prove helpful to change your mindset and improve your overall well-being.

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References:

¹Applying the CBT model of emotions. (2020). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Los Angeles. https://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-model-of-emotions

²Cherry, K. (2023, July 27). Psychologist Aaron Beck biography. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/aaron-beck-biography-2795492

³Thoughts 101: How thoughts create emotions and stuff. (2024). Transformation Academy. https://transformationacademy.com/2019/10/thoughts-101-how-thoughts-create-emotions-and-stuff/

⁴Stanborough, J. (2023, June 5). How to change negative thinking with cognitive restructuring. Healthline.https://www.healthline.com/health/cognitive-restructuring#self-monitoring