Do you struggle with negative automatic thoughts taking over in any given situation?
Do you find yourself catastrophising a lot of the time, always going to the worst case scenario in your head?
Negative automatic thoughts are driven by fear and fear is based on a need to keep us safe. However, some of the reactions that we once had to situations become outdated and need re-visiting.
A way of helping this process is by re-framing. If you are in a situation that causes negative automatic thoughts to arise, it's helpful to look at it from a different perspective. By assessing the facts of the situation and bringing yourself into the here and now, rather than predicting the outcome in the future, this will encourage you to tell your brain that the situation is safe.
Another way to assist the process of re-framing is to hold a metaphorical mirror to the situation and look at it from the other side. For example, you may be attending college for the first time and the negative automatic thoughts tell you that you will get lost, not know anyone, won't make friends. By using the mirror, you can re-frame those thoughts into seeing the great opportunities that will arise such as gaining new knowledge, meeting new people, progressing towards a career.
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