{"id":152177,"date":"2024-03-03T08:38:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T13:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/archives\/152177"},"modified":"2024-03-03T08:38:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T13:38:58","slug":"automatic-negative-thoughts-break-the-anxiety-cycle-11-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/archives\/152177","title":{"rendered":"Automatic Negative Thoughts – Break the Anxiety Cycle 11\/30"},"content":{"rendered":"
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lLZ-3TSoe9E<\/div>Let me tell you a story about the invisible thing\u00a0 that fuels anxiety and depression, and then I’m\u00a0\u00a0 going to teach you some skills to stop letting\u00a0 it control you and how you feel. So one day when\u00a0\u00a0 I was super pregnant, super tired, exhausted,\u00a0 overwhelmed with parenting three little kids and\u00a0\u00a000:00:17<\/a>growing a human inside of me, I had to go to Home\u00a0 Depot to fix something in the house. And I pulled\u00a0\u00a0 into the closest parking spot I could find, but\u00a0 then I realized that the truck in front of me in\u00a0\u00a0 the stall in front of me was sticking out into my\u00a0 stall a little bit so I couldn’t pull all the way\u00a0\u00a000:00:33<\/a>in. And twisting around to like back out find a\u00a0 new spot just sounded like painful and exhausting\u00a0\u00a0 with my huge stomach. So I just checked to make\u00a0 sure that my van was in the lines, and then I went\u00a0\u00a0 into the store. I got what I needed, came back\u00a0 out, and when I got to my van I found that someone\u00a0\u00a000:00:50<\/a>had left a business card on my window. But it\u00a0 wasn’t a regular business card. It said, “You suck\u00a0\u00a0 at parking.” It said, “F you. Learn to drive, you\u00a0 idiot.” And he gave me the finger. Now, normally\u00a0\u00a0 I would have laughed this off, but not today. Not\u00a0 at 8 months pregnant. “Why are people so cruel?” I\u00a0\u00a000:01:12<\/a>thought. “Poor me. I’m having a bad day, and this\u00a0 mean person needed to come make it worse.” Right?\u00a0\u00a0 “What’s their stupid problem?” I thought. “They\u00a0 took the time to print out you-suck-at-parking\u00a0\u00a0 business cards.” Okay. I definitely cried a little\u00a0 bit on the way home, and I’m going to blame that\u00a0\u00a000:01:32<\/a>on the pregnancy hormones. So why was I so upset?\u00a0 It would be easy to say that I was upset because\u00a0\u00a0 someone put a mean card on my window, but that\u00a0 is not true. Our emotions do not come from the\u00a0\u00a0 situation; they come from how we think about the\u00a0 situation. I wasn’t upset because of the piece\u00a0\u00a000:01:50<\/a>of paper; I was upset because I interpreted that\u00a0 card to mean that people were attacking me, that\u00a0\u00a0 I was surrounded by a mean and dangerous world,\u00a0 that they were out to get me. And this triggered\u00a0\u00a0 the stress response, the fear response. Without\u00a0 even realizing it, I interpreted that situation\u00a0\u00a000:02:09<\/a>as threatening. And this was thanks to automatic\u00a0 negative thoughts. We are all deluded when we\u00a0\u00a0 think that the situation, the trigger is what\u00a0 makes us feel a certain way. You see, there are\u00a0\u00a0 hundreds of possible ways I could have interpreted\u00a0 that situation. If I had just thought, “Meh,\u00a0\u00a000:02:27<\/a>they’re probably just an unhappy human being with\u00a0 nothing better to do. Meh. Whatever,” I probably\u00a0\u00a0 wouldn’t have cared much. Maybe I would have\u00a0 felt a little calloused. If I had thought “Hm,\u00a0\u00a0 maybe they’re working on their anger management.\u00a0 They put a card on my window instead of slashing\u00a0\u00a000:02:42<\/a>my tires,” then I would have felt relieved. And\u00a0 if I’d thought, “Maybe they’re actually a chronic\u00a0\u00a0 people pleaser who is doing therapy homework to\u00a0 be more assertive and this is the way they’re\u00a0\u00a0 learning and practicing,” I would have left\u00a0 feeling like really happy for them, proud of their\u00a0\u00a000:02:59<\/a>accomplishments. How we think about a situation\u00a0 directly impacts how we feel. Automatic negative\u00a0\u00a0 thoughts are involuntary, habitual thoughts. They\u00a0 focus on the negative. They exaggerate problems,\u00a0\u00a0 or they predict disaster. the impact of automatic\u00a0 negative thoughts is profound. they can distort\u00a0\u00a000:03:18<\/a>your perspective, trigger strong emotions, and\u00a0 influence your behavior in harmful ways. So for\u00a0\u00a0 example, you might not go to a social activity\u00a0 because your automatic negative thought says\u00a0\u00a0 you’ll have a terrible time, and that can lead\u00a0 to missed opportunities, which leads to isolation\u00a0\u00a000:03:33<\/a>and a cycle of feeling worse and worse. in this\u00a0 video you’ll learn about the automatic negative\u00a0\u00a0 thoughts that fuel the anxiety cycle and lead\u00a0 to feeling overwhelmed or hopeless. you probably\u00a0\u00a0 aren’t even aware of the types of thoughts\u00a0 that take you there, so we’ll explore them,\u00a0\u00a000:03:49<\/a>and then we’ll talk about both a CBT and\u00a0 ACT approach to dealing with them. [Music] Most people don’t know that when you have\u00a0 depression, some physical structures in\u00a0\u00a0 your brain actually shrink. But most people also\u00a0 don’t know that when you change the way you think,\u00a0\u00a000:04:12<\/a>you can actually change the physical structure of\u00a0 your brain. Modern imaging has given us a window\u00a0\u00a0 into the brain to show us that the brain has\u00a0 plasticity, meaning it changes depending on how\u00a0\u00a0 you think and how you act. Now, most people have\u00a0 never been taught these simple ways to improve\u00a0\u00a000:04:28<\/a>mental health, so that’s why I made the course\u00a0 Change Your Brain: 10 Essential Skills to Combat\u00a0\u00a0 Anxiety and Depression. In this course you’ll\u00a0 learn a bunch of ways that your mind and body are\u00a0\u00a0 connected. You’ll learn what to eat to combat\u00a0 depression and anxiety and how light therapy\u00a0\u00a000:04:43<\/a>actually changes the serotonin levels in your\u00a0 brain and research shows that it’s more effective\u00a0\u00a0 than anti-depressants for mild to moderate\u00a0 depression. You’ll learn that when you improve\u00a0\u00a0 your sleep, 87% of people see their depression\u00a0 symptoms decrease. These skills are all all backed\u00a0\u00a000:04:59<\/a>by research, and many of them only take a few\u00a0 minutes each day. So if you’d like to learn more,\u00a0\u00a0 check out the link below. The course is backed\u00a0 by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, so if you’re\u00a0\u00a0 just curious about what the research says about\u00a0 how to change your brain or if you’re ready to\u00a0\u00a000:05:15<\/a>improve your depression or anxiety, check it out.\u00a0 Your life can get so much better. I saw this meme\u00a0\u00a0 the other day. My top three assumptions when the\u00a0 doorbell rings: number one, murderer. Number two,\u00a0\u00a0 police telling me that everyone is dead. Number\u00a0 three, that book I ordered on positive thinking.\u00a0\u00a000:05:33<\/a>Isn’t this how anxiety works? But usually it’s\u00a0 on a much quieter, like chronic scale. We are\u00a0\u00a0 swimming in automatic thoughts that we don’t even\u00a0 know are there. People have between 6 and 60,000\u00a0\u00a0 thoughts a day. I don’t know many people who only\u00a0 have six. We are constantly making assumptions\u00a0\u00a000:05:50<\/a>about what others think about us, about some\u00a0 imagined future that we’re worrying about,\u00a0\u00a0 about the catastrophic outcomes that are sure to\u00a0 occur. Now, you’re most likely not anxious simply\u00a0\u00a0 because of your genes; you’re anxious because\u00a0 you perceive the world to be a dangerous place.\u00a0\u00a000:06:07<\/a>And you perceive the world as a dangerous place\u00a0 because you’re buying into automatic negative\u00a0\u00a0 thoughts. When we look at the anxiety cycle,\u00a0 there’s some kind of stimulus that we interpret\u00a0\u00a0 as being dangerous, and that’s what triggers the\u00a0 fight\/flight\/freeze response – the interpretation.\u00a0\u00a000:06:23<\/a>So the vast majority of the time it’s the\u00a0 interpretation that makes us believe we’re\u00a0\u00a0 in danger. But most of the time we don’t realize\u00a0 that. We think that it’s the stimulus that made us\u00a0\u00a0 feel a certain way. Victor Frankl said, “Between\u00a0 the stimulus and response there is a space, and\u00a0\u00a000:06:41<\/a>in that space lies our freedom and power to choose\u00a0 our responses. In our response lies our growth and\u00a0\u00a0 our freedom.” And he would know – he survived\u00a0 the Nazi concentration camps when his family\u00a0\u00a0 didn’t. He survived the horrors of World War\u00a0 II as a Jew, and he managed to find purpose and\u00a0\u00a000:06:59<\/a>meaning and goodness in life. When we feel fear\u00a0 and anxiety, we usually don’t realize that we are\u00a0\u00a0 looking through the lens of our automatic negative\u00a0 thoughts. And these thoughts are often fearful.\u00a0\u00a0 These thoughts are like we’re walking down the\u00a0 street in Las Vegas, and there’s people selling\u00a0\u00a000:07:16<\/a>stuff. Right? “Hey, you need a new phone.” “You\u00a0 probably need an all-you-can-eat steak dinner.”\u00a0\u00a0 “You definitely need to see this show.” “Hey,\u00a0 buy a hot dog.” “Hey, want some porn?” Right?\u00a0\u00a0 It’s a normal experience to run across people\u00a0 selling stuff, and it’s a normal experience to\u00a0\u00a000:07:31<\/a>have random thoughts pop into your head. But most\u00a0 of us don’t realize that we’re buying into these\u00a0\u00a0 thoughts. It’s like we don’t have any skills to\u00a0 brush them off, and instead we feel the need to\u00a0\u00a0 talk with each salesperson, listen to what they\u00a0 say, and buy what they’re selling. This is what’s\u00a0\u00a000:07:47<\/a>called buying your thoughts. It’s when you believe\u00a0 them and invest in them without even questioning\u00a0\u00a0 if you want what they’re selling. And you don’t\u00a0 even realize it. We don’t even realize that the\u00a0\u00a0 reason we’re feeling the way we are is because of\u00a0 how we’re thinking thinking because the thoughts\u00a0\u00a000:08:00<\/a>are just like the air we breathe. Let me share\u00a0 some examples with you. I asked my audience what\u00a0\u00a0 their automatic negative thoughts are, and here’s\u00a0 some of their responses: “It’s my fault for 100%\u00a0\u00a0 of everything going wrong, and then I shame\u00a0 myself.” “I’m such a failure.” “I’m all alone.\u00a0\u00a000:08:19<\/a>I’m not lovable. I’m broken.” “I won’t be able to\u00a0 sleep again at night, and I won’t be able to sleep\u00a0\u00a0 at all in my life.” “It’s too much. I can’t handle\u00a0 it, and it will break me down.” “This depressive\u00a0\u00a0 episode is never going to go away.” “Something\u00a0 good has just happened, so something devastating\u00a0\u00a000:08:37<\/a>is about to happen next.” “Why am I like this? Why\u00a0 am I like a terrified Chihuahua when other people\u00a0\u00a0 around me are relaxed and don’t seem to anticipate\u00a0 doom at any moment?” “They’re just saying that to\u00a0\u00a0 sound nice” (about any praise or compliments).\u00a0 “I always mess things up.” “No one really cares\u00a0\u00a000:08:54<\/a>about me.” “I’m never going to be good enough.”\u00a0 “Everyone is judging me right now.” Notice how you\u00a0\u00a0 feel in your body after hearing those. Honestly,\u00a0 when I read through the comments I felt a little\u00a0\u00a0 heavy, a little discouraged, a little anxious.\u00a0 So what do we do about your automatic negative\u00a0\u00a000:09:12<\/a>thoughts? Step one is getting super clear on\u00a0 what these thoughts are. In the next segments\u00a0\u00a0 in this um section of the course, we’re going to\u00a0 talk about some Kung Fu with your thoughts. But\u00a0\u00a0 for now we just have to take these thoughts from\u00a0 being invisible little whispers to being concrete\u00a0\u00a000:09:29<\/a>thingies. Right? You’ve got to catch yourself\u00a0 thinking your worst thoughts. So go back to the\u00a0\u00a0 section in your workbook where you wrote down\u00a0 the situations where you tend to feel anxiety.\u00a0\u00a0 Now we’ve got to explore the thoughts that are in\u00a0 between the situation and the anxiety. I’m going\u00a0\u00a000:09:46<\/a>to give you some examples. Okay. So my sister once\u00a0 told me this um awesome story about this time she\u00a0\u00a0 was hanging out with a brand-new friend. And they\u00a0 went to the beach and they hung out together with\u00a0\u00a0 all their kids. And then she gets home. And this\u00a0 friend was kind of a like very clean and tidy,\u00a0\u00a000:10:01<\/a>afraid-of-germs type person. They get home, and\u00a0 my daughter finds a nit, like one baby lice in\u00a0\u00a0 her daughter’s hair after playing with the clean\u00a0 family. So she started having these thoughts,\u00a0\u00a0 “Oh my gosh, she’s going to hate me. She’s going\u00a0 to tell others how gross I am. She’s never going\u00a0\u00a000:10:17<\/a>to hang out with me again. No one will.” And then,\u00a0 you know, that creates the anxiety response. Why\u00a0\u00a0 would our body have an anxiety response around\u00a0 rejection? Well we used to as, you know,\u00a0\u00a0 a species completely depend on our community for\u00a0 our survival. So our brain is like, “Oh my gosh,\u00a0\u00a000:10:35<\/a>if I get rejected I’ll die of starvation.\u00a0 I’ll be kicked out of my village, and I’ll,\u00a0\u00a0 and I’ll die.” So when we notice these thought, we\u00a0 can challenge them, or we can separate ourselves\u00a0\u00a0 from them and realize, you know what, we’re\u00a0 probably not going to die. She might not even\u00a0\u00a000:10:50<\/a>reject me. She might not even be mad. She might\u00a0 not hate me.” You know, things like that. We can\u00a0\u00a0 challenge those thoughts. We separate ourselves\u00a0 from them, defuse them. Okay, let’s take another\u00a0\u00a0 one. You’re laying in bed, got a big day ahead\u00a0 of you, and you can’t fall asleep. You might\u00a0\u00a000:11:06<\/a>start having thoughts like, “I’m never going to\u00a0 get enough rest. I’m going to be tired all day\u00a0\u00a0 tomorrow. I’m going to snap at my kids all day or\u00a0 I won’t be able to work very well. it’s going to\u00a0\u00a0 be awful to get back to sleep.” Um and that leads\u00a0 to really big fears, catastrophizing, right? “Oh,\u00a0\u00a000:11:24<\/a>I’ll ruin my relationship with my kids, and\u00a0 they’ll cut me off when I’m older.” And again,\u00a0\u00a0 that’s that rejection fear, like now I’ll die\u00a0 starvation or I’ll be alone forever. I’ll feel\u00a0\u00a0 pain. I’m afraid of pain.” These are the core\u00a0 fears, right? Um rejection, um humiliation, pain,\u00a0\u00a000:11:42<\/a>death, failure, loss of identity. These are the\u00a0 four fears we worry about. Okay. Here’s another\u00a0\u00a0 one: your boss gives you some negative feedback\u00a0 at work. Your thoughts around this: “I’m such a\u00a0\u00a0 failure. I never do anything right. He’s such a\u00a0 jerk. I’m never good enough.” Um that could lead\u00a0\u00a000:11:59<\/a>to “I’m going to get fired.” Yeah. That’s that’s\u00a0 a survival threat to your brain, so it’s going\u00a0\u00a0 to kick off the anxiety response. “My husband is\u00a0 going to be disappointed in me.” Rejection. “We’re\u00a0\u00a0 going to run out of money and die of starvation”\u00a0 Right? Again, there’s that survival response. Now,\u00a0\u00a000:12:12<\/a>what would happen if instead of those thoughts we\u00a0 could challenge those thoughts and be like “Well,\u00a0\u00a0 this is an opportunity to learn. I can learn\u00a0 new things.” Or “Oh, my boss must care about my\u00a0\u00a0 development if he’s willing to give me feedback.”\u00a0 I mean, there’s different ways to think about this\u00a0\u00a000:12:25<\/a>situation, right? Or you could just say, “Oh, I’m\u00a0 going to notice those thoughts. Hello, failure\u00a0\u00a0 story. Man, you sure come up a lot. I don’t really\u00a0 have to believe you.” Okay, we’ll get back to that\u00a0\u00a0 later though. Okay. Uh here’s another example:\u00a0 I feel anxious or depressed. You might think,\u00a0\u00a000:12:40<\/a>“This anxiety is never going to go away.” “This\u00a0 depression is never going to go away.” And then\u00a0\u00a0 that thought leads to the belief, “I will feel\u00a0 miserable forever, and my life is ruined.” Okay.\u00a0\u00a0 So how are these automatic negative thoughts\u00a0 impacting your life? How do they impact how you\u00a0\u00a000:12:58<\/a>feel? Okay. Step two: thoughts aren’t facts. Your\u00a0 brain makes stuff up all the time. Okay. So you\u00a0\u00a0 spend your day with these thoughts swirling around\u00a0 your head, and they trigger the anxiety cycle. And\u00a0\u00a0 the crazy thing is, you don’t even realize it.\u00a0 So how are we going to take another step toward\u00a0\u00a000:13:14<\/a>stopping the anxiety cycle? The second step is\u00a0 realizing that your brain is a word machine. It\u00a0\u00a0 literally just makes a ton of thoughts all the\u00a0 time. Its job is to crank out random thoughts.\u00a0\u00a0 So your job is to create a little space between\u00a0 you and the thoughts. There are two approaches to\u00a0\u00a000:13:35<\/a>managing automatic negative thoughts: CBT and ACT.\u00a0 Now, I think they both have merit, so let me teach\u00a0\u00a0 them to you. The classic approach to negative\u00a0 thoughts is from CBT, cognitive behavioral\u00a0\u00a0 therapy. With CBT it’s like mental Judo. You learn\u00a0 to spot these thoughts, challenge them, and swap\u00a0\u00a000:13:54<\/a>them out with thoughts that are more balanced and\u00a0 realistic. You’re basically engage, engaging with\u00a0\u00a0 the thought in order to choose something more\u00a0 helpful. So if we take the thought, “My boss\u00a0\u00a0 gave me negative feedback at work,” the classic\u00a0 CBT approach is to say, “Are these thoughts\u00a0\u00a000:14:09<\/a>accurate?” and then replace them with thoughts\u00a0 like, “Sometimes I succeed. I often do things\u00a0\u00a0 right. Last week I did a great job with that\u00a0 problem we had with widgets,” and then you bring\u00a0\u00a0 to mind these alternate facts. Right? Say like,\u00a0 “Oh, I messed up, but mistakes happen.” Or “I’m\u00a0\u00a000:14:27<\/a>going to learn new skills to solve this. I can get\u00a0 through this. I always do.” Right? It, this can be\u00a0\u00a0 a really simple but a powerful way to stop buying\u00a0 these negative thoughts and then replace them with\u00a0\u00a0 something more accurate and helpful. And there’s\u00a0 a worksheet in the workbook to help you go through\u00a0\u00a000:14:42<\/a>this process. And just as a reminder, during this\u00a0 course I’m going to teach you a ton of skills. And\u00a0\u00a0 it’s not like you can just do them one time and\u00a0 then it’s all better. Like these are exercises\u00a0\u00a0 that you’re going to want to practice over and\u00a0 over for a while until they become easier and\u00a0\u00a000:14:59<\/a>easier for you to do throughout your day. Okay.\u00a0 So let’s talk about the second approach, what\u00a0\u00a0 ACT calls cognitive defusion. With acceptance and\u00a0 commitment therapy you don’t fight the automatic\u00a0\u00a0 negative thoughts. Instead, you learn to sit\u00a0 with them, notice them, but not let them boss you\u00a0\u00a000:15:14<\/a>around. Um you’re also encouraged to take actions\u00a0 that line up with your personal values. This can\u00a0\u00a0 give your life a sense of meaning and purpose,\u00a0 which makes the ants less powerful. So if anxiety\u00a0\u00a0 is believing the salesman, you know, um believing\u00a0 those negative thoughts that say everything is\u00a0\u00a000:15:32<\/a>awful, freedom isn’t arguing with the salesman;\u00a0 it’s not debating with them. Sometimes when we\u00a0\u00a0 argue with our thoughts or we spend a lot of\u00a0 time ruminating on them or analyzing them,\u00a0\u00a0 we just end up overthinking and feeling more\u00a0 confused and miserable than ever. This is called\u00a0\u00a000:15:48<\/a>cognitive fusion, right, where we might buy the\u00a0 thoughts or we’re so engaged with our thoughts,\u00a0\u00a0 arguing with them and debating them, that we don’t\u00a0 really have space to be present, to live our life.\u00a0\u00a0 We just keep going in circles. Like, it’s like\u00a0 you’re in a debate with the salesperson. So even\u00a0\u00a000:16:06<\/a>if we aren’t buying what they’re selling, if we’re\u00a0 arguing with the salesperson or debating facts\u00a0\u00a0 with them we aren’t going where we were going. We\u00a0 aren’t walking down the sidewalk in the direction\u00a0\u00a0 we’re going. We’re just stuck there arguing with\u00a0 our thoughts. And this is a typical overthinking\u00a0\u00a000:16:19<\/a>pattern with anxiety and depression. Freedom\u00a0 is knowing where we’re going when we’re walking\u00a0\u00a0 down the street, knowing what we do and we don’t\u00a0 want, and it also means choosing to engage with a\u00a0\u00a0 salesman only if it helps us. Right? So to do this\u00a0 we need a little bit of space from the salesman,\u00a0\u00a000:16:35<\/a>and this is called cognitive defusion. So instead\u00a0 of debating our thoughts, we need to learn to\u00a0\u00a0 notice these thoughts, separate ourselves from the\u00a0 thoughts, and then choose what thoughts are going\u00a0\u00a0 to be helpful for us to live the life we dream of.\u00a0 Maybe I want to buy that churro, but I definitely\u00a0\u00a000:16:50<\/a>don’t want to see that show in Las Vegas. Right?\u00a0 We need to get better at distancing ourselves\u00a0\u00a0 from the salesman so that we can evaluate what’s\u00a0 going to be helpful for us. This is a skill you\u00a0\u00a0 can learn and you can practice a lot, but you\u00a0 can also just simply switch from saying like,\u00a0\u00a000:17:06<\/a>“I’m such a loser” to saying “I’m having the\u00a0 thought that I’m a loser.” Instead of saying,\u00a0\u00a0 “I hate feeling anxious” you could say “I’m having\u00a0 the thought that I hate feeling anxious.” All\u00a0\u00a0 you’re doing is creating a degree of separation\u00a0 from your true self and your word machine. So\u00a0\u00a000:17:23<\/a>there are some really practical ways to learn to\u00a0 do this. So this this video is already getting\u00a0\u00a0 too long, so we’re we’re going to practice more\u00a0 cognitive defusion skills in the next segment.\u00a0\u00a0 I just wanted to give you an overview. So from\u00a0 my perspective both CBT and ACT approaches can\u00a0\u00a000:17:38<\/a>be quite helpful. I’ll often try the CBT first,\u00a0 so like to a salesman, “No thanks, I don’t need a\u00a0\u00a0 vacuum cleaner.” Um or to your negative thoughts,\u00a0 “No thanks, I’m I’m not a complete loser.” And\u00a0\u00a0 then if that thought is super persistent I’ll just\u00a0 let it be there and I’ll redirect my attention,\u00a0\u00a000:17:55<\/a>essentially ignoring the salesman and walking\u00a0 on. “Dear mind, thank you for that thought,\u00a0\u00a0 but it’s not super helpful. Okay. Now, back to\u00a0 what I was doing.” Just allowing that thought\u00a0\u00a0 to be there and redirecting your attention back\u00a0 to your value, direction, or the present moment.\u00a0\u00a000:18:12<\/a>So just to summarize: automatic negative thoughts\u00a0 are the habitual, involuntary thoughts that our\u00a0\u00a0 word machine of a brain pops out all the time.\u00a0 They’re often false, unhelpful, and they directly\u00a0\u00a0 contribute to anxiety because that perception\u00a0 of danger, that interpretation that a situation\u00a0\u00a000:18:28<\/a>is dangerous or threatening triggers the fear\u00a0 response. You can learn to notice these thoughts\u00a0\u00a0 for what they are – just thoughts – challenge\u00a0 them, and replace them with something more\u00a0\u00a0 helpful to you, whether that’s a more realistic\u00a0 thought or a shift in attention to what really\u00a0\u00a000:18:44<\/a>matters to you. Automatic negative thoughts don’t\u00a0 have to control your life. Okay. Your challenge\u00a0\u00a0 for the next week: sit down with your workbook\u00a0 and explore what kind of interpretations lead\u00a0\u00a0 you to feeling anxious. See if you can explore\u00a0 the automatic negative thoughts that make you\u00a0\u00a000:18:58<\/a>feel feel like you’re in danger. Do this at least\u00a0 once per day for one week. And it’s probably best\u00a0\u00a0 to just schedule in a time to do this instead\u00a0 of waiting until you’re anxious to do it. Um\u00a0\u00a0 and you can print extra copies of the worksheet\u00a0 from the paid course. Okay. Thank you for being\u00a0\u00a0
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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lLZ-3TSoe9ELet me tell you a story about the invisible thing\u00a0 that fuels anxiety and depression, and then I’m\u00a0\u00a0 going to teach you some skills to stop letting\u00a0 it control you and how you feel. So one day when\u00a0\u00a0 I was super pregnant, super tired, exhausted,\u00a0 overwhelmed with parenting three little kids and\u00a0\u00a000:00:17growing a human inside … Continue reading Automatic Negative Thoughts – Break the Anxiety Cycle 11\/30<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":152178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-152177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1709473138-maxresdefault.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}