There is always a situation that triggers automatic thoughts, which in turn affect our reaction. The reaction includes our emotions, behavior, and physiology.
Example following the situation - automatic thoughts - reaction pattern:
You get into a car accident (event). When you sit behind the wheel again after the accident, you think that it will happen again (automatic thoughts). Your reaction is:
- Emotions: Fear
- Behavior: You decide to switch to public transport
- Physiology: Every time you think about trying to drive again, you get a headache.
This algorithm works for everything, from basic intrapersonal conflicts to external conflicts with other people or events that have occurred.
It's not the situation itself that determines how people feel, but rather how they perceive it.
Each of you will have your own problem, which can be addressed in this way. Challenge your automatic thoughts by going through these questions. Automatic thoughts shape the course of our lives.
By identifying your automatic thoughts, you can (and likely already do to some extent) evaluate their validity. For example, if you have many tasks to complete, you might have the automatic thought: "I'll never get it all done." But you can quickly check this against reality, remember similar situations from the past, and remind yourself: "It's okay. You know you’ve always managed to do what needed to be done." Once you recognize that you are misinterpreting the situation and adjust your perception, your mood is likely to improve, you may start behaving more functionally, and/or your physiological arousal may decrease. Using cognitive terminology, we can say: when dysfunctional thoughts are subjected to objective reflection, a person’s emotions, behavior, and physiological reactions gradually change.
But why do these automatic thoughts arise? Why do different people perceive the same situations differently? Why does the same person interpret the same event differently at different times? The answer lies in another cognitive phenomenon: beliefs.
More on this in the next post...
Example following the situation - automatic thoughts - reaction pattern:
You get into a car accident (event). When you sit behind the wheel again after the accident, you think that it will happen again (automatic thoughts). Your reaction is:
- Emotions: Fear
- Behavior: You decide to switch to public transport
- Physiology: Every time you think about trying to drive again, you get a headache.
This algorithm works for everything, from basic intrapersonal conflicts to external conflicts with other people or events that have occurred.
It's not the situation itself that determines how people feel, but rather how they perceive it.
Each of you will have your own problem, which can be addressed in this way. Challenge your automatic thoughts by going through these questions. Automatic thoughts shape the course of our lives.
By identifying your automatic thoughts, you can (and likely already do to some extent) evaluate their validity. For example, if you have many tasks to complete, you might have the automatic thought: "I'll never get it all done." But you can quickly check this against reality, remember similar situations from the past, and remind yourself: "It's okay. You know you’ve always managed to do what needed to be done." Once you recognize that you are misinterpreting the situation and adjust your perception, your mood is likely to improve, you may start behaving more functionally, and/or your physiological arousal may decrease. Using cognitive terminology, we can say: when dysfunctional thoughts are subjected to objective reflection, a person’s emotions, behavior, and physiological reactions gradually change.
But why do these automatic thoughts arise? Why do different people perceive the same situations differently? Why does the same person interpret the same event differently at different times? The answer lies in another cognitive phenomenon: beliefs.
More on this in the next post...
