Ways to change your thinking

1-Identify the Distortion

-write down your negative thoughts, this will make it easier to think about the problem in a more positive and realistic way, identify which cognitive distortion you’re involved in

2-Examine the Evidence

-instead of assuming that your negative thought is true, examine the actual evidence for it

3-The Double-standard Method

-instead of putting yourself down in a harsh, condemning way, talk to yourself in the same compassionate way you would talk to a friend with a similar problem

4-The Experimental Technique

-do an experiment to test the validity of your negative thought

5-Thinking in shades of grey

-instead of thinking about your problems in all-or-nothing extremes, evaluate things on a range of 0 to 100, when things don’t work out as well as you hoped, think about the experience as a partial success rather than a complete failure

6-The Survey Method

-ask people questions to find out if your thoughts and attitudes are realistic

7-Define Terms

-when you label yourself as something negative, ask what is the definition of the word

8-The Semantic Method

-simply substitute language that is less colorful and emotionally loaded, this method is helpful for should statements

9-Re-attribution

-instead of automatically assuming that you are “bad” and blaming yourself for a problem, think about the many factors that may have contributed to it, focus on solving the problem instead of using up all your energy blaming yourself and feeling guilty

10-Cost-benefit Analysis

-list the advantages and disadvantages of a feeling, a negative thought, or a behavior pattern