Cognitive Restructuring

A therapeutic method that is used to address distorted cognitions or negative thinking is the process of cognitive restructuring. In the process, you will need to practice being aware of your thoughts and how you respond to them. This process will help you understand your feelings and mood so that you can challenge the “automatic beliefs (negative thinking or “hot thoughts”) that come succinctly with your feelings and mood. This method was developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in the mid- 1950s. Cognitive restructuring has successfully treated a variety of mental health conditions, relationship issues, and stress. Anxiety, phobias, addictions, depression cognitive distortions, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are some conditions treated by cognitive restructuring.

Here are the steps for using this method:

Step One: Claim Yourself.

Relax and calm yourself down in order  to address your negative mood and thoughts. Here are a few tips for self-soothing:

• Take slow, deep breathes.

• Go for a short walk.

• Separate yourself from the crowd.

• Drink a cold glass of water.

• Splash water on your face.

• Play soothing music.

Step Two: Identify Your Trigger

What situation occurred to trigger your negative mood, feelings. For example: “A confrontation at work.”

• A co-worker entered the  employ- ee lounge to retrieve her sandwich from the refrigerator, but it was missing. Since I was the only person sitting in the lounge, she began to scream at me and accused me of taking her sandwich.

Step Three: Assess Your mood

Jot down what you are felt and describe your mood. For example:

I felt…

o “attacked”

o “humiliated”

o “tired”

o “vulnerable”

o “wronged”

o “alienated”

o“ uncaring”

o “fragile”

o “uncomfortable”

o “disappointed”

 Step Four: Identify the Automatic Distressing Thoughts

Write down your natural reaction and automatic thought that you felt once you felt the mood you described in step three. For example:

• They have always hated me.

• This is a racist and hostile work environment.

• I am the kindest person here, so why is she attacking me?

• It’s her fault her sandwich is missing. She should have never trusted storing it in the refrigerator.

• I have been waiting for an opportunity to fight her.

• Maybe she will calm down if I share what I’ve seen since sitting in the lounge.

• I can’t ever get along with female co-workers.

Step Five: Supporting Objective (Not Influenced by Your Personal Feelings or Opinions), Evidence of Your “Automatic Thoughts”

Identify evidence that objectively supports your automatic thoughts. For example:

• She was very loud and caused other employees to be rushed  into  the lounge.

• Everyone stared at me. Some even began to laugh.

• She looked into all of the storage areas in the refrigerator but could not find her sandwich.

 Step Six: Find Objective Contradictory Evidence

Write down contradicting evidence of your automatic thoughts. These thought statements will be more reasonable (well-grounded) than the reactive thoughts. For example:

• The company director addressed her and asked that she meet in his office.

• Several employees checked on me and wanted to know if I was fine.

• They showed genuine concern.

• The janitor overheard the com- motion and stated she cleaned the refrigerator earlier than scheduled and reminded everyone of the no- tice that was posted for the past two weeks warns employees of the refrigerator cleanup.

• My direct supervisor showed sup- port by offering to talk about what happened. She even offered me the opportunity to break from work and go home to rest and relax as an option for self-care.

 Step Seven: Pinpoint and Identify Your “Balanced” Thoughts

It is time to analyze the evidence you have presented so that you can have a balanced view of what happened. You have the information that is needed, but if you are unsure, then share this information with someone who can give you an unbiased perspective. Write down your balanced thoughts. For example:

• The way she handled the situation was inappropriate.

• Others saw and heard her accusations and understood my disappointment.

• We all have the responsibility to read posted signs and notices at work to lessen the possibility of misunderstandings among co-workers.

• People were visibly shocked by her screaming and harsh words based on their reactions to claim her and to comfort me.

 Step Eight: Monitor Your Current Mood

Now that you have taken the steps to assess your thoughts and feel thoroughly, you will likely notice a change in your mood. The expectation is for your mood to have improved by this process. Make sure to write down how you feel.

(Adapted from “Cognitive Restructuring - Stress Management” 2020)

The process of cognitive restructuring takes effort and commitment. The expectation is you will be able to see the residual effect of this process in your emotional well-being. In other words, daily rehearse self-soothing activities such as positive affirmations. Encourage yourself even in small things. “Do not despise small beginnings or achievements so that you don’t grow in doubt about the future” ( JohnBaptiste 2017).

This article is excerpted from BARS – Biblical Answers that Restore Souls, authored by Diahann JohnBaptiste, MPA, MS, LPC. To purchase a copy, visit Amazon at: BARS on Amazon.

Positive Self-Talk

Now that you have finished building your vicious flower, you can evaluate the thoughts that are connected to feelings that cause you to have physical/body sensations. Anxiety causes you to engage in negative self-talk. For example, anxious selftalk takes on the—what-if thinking that leads you to expect the worst outcome. The—what-if thinking goes uncontested, and the negative self-talk takes control. Taking action on unhealthy thinking makes the situation seem real, even if the action was not necessary. For the sample Callous Flower that indicated the individual is worrying causes the headaches, which supports the theory, he or she may have brain cancer.

This theory goes uncontested until they see a medical physician. Until this occurs, the individual has suffered a great deal of angst because of false-negative thoughts. It is important to understand the mechanisms (negative thinking) that maintain your problems so that you can change them. It is time to target those negative thoughts and counter them with positive statements. This worksheet can be used to record triggers, emotions, negative/intrusive thoughts, and rational responses. A sample case is provided for your reference, as well as an additional worksheet (print this Control your anxiety callus blank sheet to practice):

You may also use the postive self talk worksheet (attached to the end of this article) until you become accustomed to countering negative thoughts with positive selftalk.

“Self-talk is your internal dialogue. It is influenced by your subconscious mind, and it reveals your thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas” (Holland 2018). “Self-talk can be both negative and positive. It can be en- couraging, and it can be distressing” (Holland 2018). “Positive self-talk can take many forms: turning negative situations into positive ones, taking problems and turning them into solutions, giving yourself a boost when you need it, or just a friendly reminder that you can do it” (Mayo Clinic Staff 2020). “It is not a way of ignoring bad situations or ignoring your problem at hand, but rather a way to build yourself up and take situations into a different light. If you automatically turn to pessimism when facing a problem, you will often not solve it. In terms of reaching a goal, this is the same—negativity will only keep you down” (Mayo Clinic Staff 2020).

“Much of your self-talk depends on your personality. If you are an optimist, your self-talk may be more hopeful and positive” (Holland 2018). “The opposite is generally true if you tend to be a pessimist” (Holland 2018). “Studies show that personality traits, such as optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and wellbeing. The positive thinking that usually comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits.If you tend to be pessimistic, do not despair—you can learn positive thinking skills” (Mayo Clinic Staff 2020).

“Positive thinking and optimism can be effective stress management tools. If you believe your selftalk is too negative, or if you want to emphasize positive self-talk, you can learn to shift that inner dialogue.It can help you be a more positive person, and it may improve your health” (Holland2018).

This article is excerpted from BARS – Biblical Answers that Restore Souls, authored by Diahann JohnBaptiste, MPA, MS, LPC. To purchase a copy, visit Amazon at: BARS on Amazon.