Entry 12: Challenging Negative Thoughts

My Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be insane! Let’s see, I have World Religion from 8-915, Math from 930-1045, Spanish Adv. Writing 11-1215, and Humanities: China from 2-315. Then I come back and I work at 6-9pm. Phew.

Well today I did even more. I met with a friend at like 1230pm and we walked downstairs to the office together; then I started my to-do list: print a bunch of papers for classes, go to a store to pick up a book, then to the bookstore to pick up two other books and a ear warmer because it was -24 windshield today!!!!!! Then I sprinted over and went to class at 2, came back to my room and my roommate was napping. I thought, “Dang that’s so smart.” So I texted some other girls and was like, “Guys do I nap or do homework?” Obviously, they said nap!!! So I took that time to nap, but I didn’t fall asleep; I just lay in my bed and relaxed for an hour. It was so calming.

Okay so then I got up, ate, and went to work where I started a psychology web assignment that requires us to become parents to a virtual child. Let me tell ya, I have not had a good laugh like I had tonight in a long while. It was hilarious, the things this simulation said. My baby is so cute haha, she looks like a little alien. She is named after the little girl I babysit for, because I love her family and her parents. They legitimately treat me like a daughter and it’s the sweetest and one of the most important relationships I have in my life.

So that was hilarious lol, definitely the highlight of my day.

After work I came back upstairs to my room and just sat down. I started my deep breathing exercising and they worked perfectly. BUT I am going to sit down now and after this, I’m going to read a book for fun and work on challenging negative thoughts.

I think that’s the most important thing for me right now; I know I talked about it yesterday but affirmations and challenging negative thinking. But I think today I am going to go through some negative thoughts and negative thinking I’m doing right now and identify by deciding type it is…

Blanket statements

-Generalizing a quality into a negative “blanket” statement

-Labeling

Irrational thinking

-No rational to the thought, act or verbalization

-Usually used to describe an action/opinion or event through emotional distress

Comparisons

-Maximizing negatives, minimizing positives

-Comparing yourself to others

-No matter what you are comparing, your negatives will be maximized and you will minimize others negatives

Emotional Reasoning

-Mistaking feelings for facts

Black/white thinking

-Good or bad, write or wrong, fair or unfair

-No grey, no other possibility of viewing the situation from a different perspective

Filtering the good/positive

-Disregarding the positives, and only focusing on the negatives

Jump to conclusions

-See something happening and viewing it as if it’s directed to you

-Laughing group of people, must be laughing at me

Overgeneralization

-Occurs when thinking about your situation in generalizations

-Cue words are ALWAYS, NEVER, FOREVER

Personalizations

Thinking that you are affecting random events

Blaming

-Refusing to accept responsibility for thoughts and actions

-Take too much responsibility for thoughts and actions of others

Shoulds/Unreasonable expectations

-Expectations of yourself, your situation, or anything else are far to high

-Cue word: SHOULD

I’m so stupid: Irrational thinking

Challenge: Just because I think I’m stupid doesn’t mean I am. I earned really good grades last semester

Everything is my fault: Blanket statement

Challenge: I think everything is my fault but I don’t have the power to affect “everything”

I should be healthy by now after all these hospital stays:  Should/Unreasonable expectation

Challenge: Everyone recovers at different paces; I will get there when I get there.

I always relapse because I’m freaking crazy: Black/White thinking

Challenge: I have relapsed a few times, and it wasn’t because I am crazy. Relapse happens in recovery. Sometimes it just happens, from not utilizing coping skills or being exposed to unhealthy situations

Everyone thinks I’m crazy: Blanket statement

Challenge: How can everyone in the world even know me? I have a mental illness, that doesn’t make me crazy.

I do nothing right: Overgeneralization

Challenge: I have accomplished some pretty great things in my life; leading DCHS in two service projects as the president of our People to People International Club. I earned a full ride to travel to Washington D.C. in Nov. 2013 to the PTPI Global Youth Forum. I have do no some things right to receive that!

It’s all ******* fault that I was hospitalized and sent to treatment: Blaming

Challenge: It’s only my fault; it was my actions that required consequential actions.

I was sent to treatment because my family doesn’t love me: Jumping to conclusions

Challenge: I went to treatment because I needed help; my family did it because they want me to be the best me.

I know that I’m not good enough: Emotional Reasoning

Challenge: No, you think and you feel that. Which is an irrational thought

She’s so much prettier than I am: Comparisons

Challenge: We are all beautiful in our own different ways

No I’m not pretty, I’m not smart. I’m stupid, ugly and fat: Filtering

Challenge: Jules, she was telling you, you are pretty and smart because that’s what she thinks. Stop negating the compliments you get.

I ruined Christmas for everyone because I tried to kill myself: Personalization

Challenge: Christmas still happened for a lot of people. That’s a blanket statement, just because I attempted doesn’t mean Christmas for everyone in the world was ruined. I had a slip up; I needed medical attention; that doesn’t mean I ruined Christmas.

Start looking for negative thoughts in your life. There are so many different kinds of thoughts that we all have everyday. If we only focus on the negatives, our lives will be negative. We have to start challenging our negative thinking because it creates a sense of self-accomplishment. The more you can rationally think through your negative thoughts and put a name on them, then challenge them; the stronger and better you will become at doing it.

Start complimenting others instead of bringing others down. The thoughts that I have had have probably crossed the minds of many others. Let’s reach out and demonstrate how to cope with these thoughts by challenging them!

NOT TODAY DEPRESSION. NOT TODAY BIPOLAR! I am challenging the thoughts that are caused in my head by you guys! I am beating you today! The more days I beat you the stronger I get. The stronger I get, the harder I can fight against you!

I am…

A WARRIOR.

Most days wake up, and put on my battle gear. Sometimes my gear is strong, not letting anything hurt it. Sometimes my gear is a little less strong, things can hurt it, but it still protects me. But sometimes my gear doesn’t even get put on, and I am unprotected. No matter what, if I have my gear on, if it’s soft, or if it’s not on… I will fight. Some days I’m strong. Some days I’m not. And some days I don’t even want to participate in. But I do. I get up. I rise. Every day I am brave.