How to challenge automatic negative thoughts

How we feel and behave is often influenced by how we have been thinking and what our thoughts are telling us.

When we experience confident, pleasant and life-affirming thoughts, we may feel better about ourselves and more able to confront the challenges that lie ahead. On the other hand, negative thoughts about ourselves, other people or the world around us may affect our mood.

We might then avoid constructive risks or situations that make us feel anxious, withdraw from others or become increasingly isolated. This can maintain a cycle involving thoughts such as:

• “I am not good enough.”
• “Everyone else is better than me.”
• “I can’t even…”

Our negative thoughts often go unquestioned and may therefore be believed to be true. We may not realise that thoughts are not always facts; they can also reflect opinions, assumptions, interpretations or established beliefs.

These patterns can lead us to overgeneralise or catastrophise. For example, one difficult experience might become “Nothing ever goes right for me”, while a possible problem might be interpreted as an inevitable disaster.

As a result of our core beliefs and previous experiences, we may listen to negative internal chatter without stopping to examine it or consider a more balanced perspective. This can contribute to difficult feelings and restrictive behaviours, which may then reinforce the original thoughts.

It can undoubtedly be challenging to recognise when we are experiencing automatic negative thoughts. However, working backwards from a feeling or behaviour may help us identify the thought that influenced it.

The next time you recognise a difficult feeling or restrictive behaviour, explore what your thoughts are telling you.

Ask yourself:

• What was going through my mind just before I felt this way?
• What am I assuming about myself, the other person or the situation?
• Am I predicting what will happen?
• Am I treating a possibility as though it were a certainty?

Sometimes, we cannot identify a particular negative thought but still feel uneasy, low or avoidant. Further reflection may help us understand why we feel this way, but it is also possible to experience an emotion without finding one clear thought behind it.

If you cannot identify a thought, try acknowledging the feeling and considering what might support you in that moment. This could involve self-soothing by having a warm bath, speaking to a friend, listening to uplifting music, going for a walk or allowing yourself time to rest.

There will be occasions when a thought reflects a genuine fact. However, what we believe that fact means may still be incomplete or inaccurate. We might also underestimate our ability to cope or overlook information that does not fit our initial conclusion.

It can be helpful to question automatic negative thoughts rather than assuming they are completely accurate. You could ask:

• What would I say to a friend who was experiencing the same thought?
• Is there an alternative viewpoint?
• What evidence supports this thought?
• What evidence does not support it?
• Have I thought this way before and later discovered that my assumption was inaccurate?
• What would be a more balanced and compassionate way to understand the situation?

The aim is not to replace every negative thought with an unrealistically positive one. It is to develop a fairer, more balanced perspective based on the available evidence.