Have you ever noticed that voice inside your head that sometimes says mean things about you? It’s called negative self-talk, and it can make us feel sad, upset, or even anxious at times. But don’t worry, there’s a way to challenge those negative thoughts! In this blog post, we’ll explore how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help us overcome negative self-talk.
Understanding Negative Self-Talk
Negative self-talk is when we say unkind things to ourselves, like “I’m not good enough” or “Nobody likes me.” These thoughts can make us feel down or worried.
Sometimes our minds play tricks on us, making us think everything is terrible even when it’s not. It’s important to recognize these tricks, so we don’t believe the mean things we tell ourselves.
How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Helps
CBT is a special kind of therapy that helps us change our negative thoughts and actions. It teaches us to notice when we’re having negative thoughts and replace them with positive and realistic ones. CBT shows us that our thoughts affect how we feel and act. By changing our thoughts, we can start feeling better.
Identifying Negative Self-Talk
The first step in challenging negative self-talk is to notice when it happens. We can take a moment to breathe deeply and pay attention to our thoughts. When we catch ourselves thinking mean things, we can write them down. Then, we can ask ourselves if these thoughts are helpful or not.
- Let’s try this activity by taking a moment to identify what you are thinking right now.
- Go ahead and write it down in a piece of paper or your phone.
- Then ask yourself if this thought is helpful to you or not.
- In the next section, we will learn on tools to challenge these negative thoughts.
Challenging Negative Self-Talk Using CBT
Changing Negative Thoughts: This means turning our negative thoughts into positive and realistic ones. For example, if we think, “I’m terrible at math,” we can challenge that thought by reminding ourselves of times when we did well in math or by saying, “I can improve my math skills with practice.”
Doing Things That Make Us Feel Good: Engaging in activities we enjoy can help challenge negative thoughts. Drawing, playing sports, or spending time with friends can make us feel happy and positive about ourselves.
Stopping Negative Thoughts: When negative thoughts pop into our heads, we can imagine a big stop sign and say “stop” to interrupt them. Then, we can replace those negative thoughts with positive ones. For example, if we catch ourselves thinking, “I’m not good enough,” we can replace it with “I have many talents and qualities that make me competent and creative.” Consider reading this blog post on 5 tips to stop negative thoughts.
Finding the Good: Focusing on the good things in our lives can help change our thinking. We can keep a gratitude journal and write down three things we’re thankful for each day. We can also say positive things to ourselves every morning, like “I am capable” or “I am loved.” Our words have power, and what we say to ourselves impacts our mental health.
Implementing CBT Strategies in Daily Life: To make CBT strategies part of our everyday routine, we can create a plan. We can set reminders on our phones or put sticky notes with positive messages around our room. It’s important to practice these strategies regularly and be patient with ourselves. Remember, changing negative self-talk takes time, but we can feel better with practice.
See a therapist: At times our deep-rooted self-talk is morphed into complex self-talk. In this case, we might need a trained therapist to help us dissect those negative labels we carry with us. When looking for a therapist, make sure to ask if they are trained in CBT skills.
Remember, negative self-talk can bring us down, but we have the power to challenge those thoughts. By using techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we can replace negative thoughts with positive and realistic ones. Remember to notice your thoughts, change negative thoughts into positive ones, do things that make you feel good, and focus on gratitude. With time and effort, you can overcome negative self-talk and start feeling better about yourself.
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