Do you find yourself always amid negativity? Feeling low, helpless, or anxious? If all such thoughts pop up automatically all the time, then you are not alone. This is a widespread phenomenon in today’s world. These are defined as "automatic negative thoughts" (ANTS). The term was coined by Dr. Daniel Amen to describe all the negative thoughts that take up the entirety of one's mind and derail optimal functioning and well-being.
Feelings and Chemical Regulations
The chemicals in the body are the primary regulators f your feelings and emotions. With specific thoughts, a chemical release in the brain brings about the right and consecutive sense. Physiological differences occur due to these chemical releases. For example, when you are happy, a neurotransmitter known as serotonin is released, which relaxes your heart rate, and breathing, and your mind becomes more clear. Similarly, with a negative thought, there are physiological reactions like increased heart rate and breathing. So, in short, what you think affects how you feel mentally and physically.
Hence it becomes extremely important to check the ANTs we have and re-frame them so that you can enjoy life to its absolute fullest and are not governed by negativity and hopelessness. Let us dive deep into understanding the different ANTs and how it affect you.
1. Over-generalization
This is the thought pattern where one arrives at a definitive conclusion before adequately looking through the evidence. For example, using the terms like” this always happens to me” or “good things never happen to me." Using words like "always" and "never" shows the underlying ANT in the thoughts.
2. All-or-nothing thinking
Seeing things as black or white all the time. Right or wrong is the only way to go, and no heed id provide to Grey areas at all. For example, “I can't do it perfectly, so I might as well not do it”.
3. Personalizing
This type of thought makes the person always take the blame for themselves when it is not their fault. If he is not enjoying the time with you, maybe something is wrong with me. These are the negative thought patterns encountered with these ANTs.
4. Catastrophizing
Always thinking about the worse that could happen and spiraling down the hole of negativity and fear. For example, “the virus has killed so many people. If I get it, I will surely die too” kind of thoughts.
5. Emotional Reasoning
Crediting the feeling as a rational fact and believing in it deeply. The element of belief in all the negative thoughts without questioning them once. For example, I feel fat, so I must be.
Many more automatic negative thoughts could create havoc in your well-being. The key is to identify them and challenge them for improvement.
How to challenge ANTs?
1. Journaling the thoughts could be a great way to challenge the ANTs. Paying attention to your thoughts could be a great way to recognize them. Understanding the regularity of the ideas could help in their identification, which is the first step in extinguishing them.
2. Now, when you recognize the patterns, say it to you to stop the train of thought. Reminding that there are just thoughts helps you regain e power back to yourself.
3. Evaluate these negative thoughts and oppose them with valid statements so that you can see the validity of such thoughts and find it easy to ignore them for the next time.
4. Reframe and change it with PET or Positive Empowering Thoughts so that you could feel better mentally and physically.
Chris Packham, LAADC, M-RAS, CCDS, CS
