Negative automatic thoughts: what are they and how do they appear?

A summary of the causes for the appearance of these psychological phenomena, and some advice.

For better or for worse, most of what happens in our mind escapes the control of our will, and even happens without us realizing it.

This has advantages, such as allowing us to direct our attention to really complex mental tasks that require deliberate effort, like making a decision about where to go or what product to buy. However, it also has some disadvantages. For example, we cannot fully control what will appear in our consciousness.

In this article we will talk about a very annoying phenomenon that is related to the latter. It is about negative automatic thoughts..

What are negative automatic thoughts?

As their name indicates, negative automatic thoughts are a set of mental contents (verbally articulated ideas, imagined images, etc.) that emerge in the consciousness in a disruptive way, independently of what the person wants to think about, and that generate an emotional disturbance..

Thus, it is a psychological phenomenon that causes discomfort and interrupts the person's thinking dynamics, given that in most cases, the emotional impact of these negative automatic thoughts is greater than what was being thought before they appeared in the consciousness.

Although the sensation produced by experiencing one of these automatic thoughts is unpleasant, the degree to which they disturb us can vary greatly; in some cases, their emotional charge and frequency are not so important as to cause significant suffering, but in certain cases they can wear down people's quality of life, and can even constitute one of the symptoms of a psychological disorder.

Causes

The causes of negative automatic thoughts are very varied, and present differences depending on the person and the context in which he/she lives. However, there are there are a series of psychological factors that increase the probabilities that these thoughts appear in our daily life, and that increase the probabilities that these thoughts appear in our daily life. in our daily lives, and that in fact overlap with each other relatively frequently. They are the following.

1. Anxiety

It is not surprising that in most people with anxiety problems, negative automatic thoughts appear. These produce a "vicious circle" type of effect: as the person is already alert and sensitive to possible signs that something is going to go wrong, he/she is more prone to attract disturbing images, pessimistic ideas, etc. to his/her consciousness.

2. Depressed mood

Depression and low mood in general introduces a pessimistic bias in people, and therefore, creates more "depressive moods".and therefore creates more "mental pathways" to unpleasant ideas or memories.

3. Problems in social relationships

Phenomena such as social phobia or the propensity to argue with someone in one's close environment can frequently give way to negative automatic thoughts, since when thinking about those people with whom unpleasant experiences have occurred, those painful emotions become what one's attention is most focused on. In addition, each new encounter with these people can "reinforce" this association by leading to unpleasant interactions.by giving way to unpleasant interactions in which we feel uncomfortable.

4. Psychological grief

The loss of something to which we were emotionally attached, as well as the loss of loved ones, is a common source of negative automatic thoughts. For example, during this process, it is normal to suddenly remember the last moments of that person's life, and at the same time to feel the sadness of that situation mixed with the longing for the loss. Fortunately, in most cases, psychological grief resolves itself in a matter of a few months.

5. Personality tending towards neuroticism

People who score high on the "Neuroticism" personality element are more likely to experience painful or unpleasant more likely to experience painful or unpleasant emotional reactions to day-to-day events, and they are also more likely to be more likely to be emotionally distressed.They are also more likely to maintain emotional sequelae after having undergone psychologically demanding experiences.

6. Feeling of guilt

The fact of having performed an action of which we are not proud is also one of the frequent causes of negative automatic thoughts. It is a kind of a kind of memory that clashes with the concept of the "ideal self", what we would like to be.It is a kind of memory that clashes with the concept of the "ideal self", what we would like to be, and therefore produces a discomfort that expresses itself from time to time, drawing our attention to that part of the memory.

What to do?

Here are some tips for dealing with this type of thoughts, although the most effective measure to take in these cases is to go to psychotherapy.

1. Do not try to block these thoughts

Pretending to leave those negative automatic thoughts totally out of your consciousness is counterproductive, because it it gives them more power, by predisposing us to pay attention to them..

2. Practice attentional focus management

3. Maintain healthy habits

When our body is weakened or in poor condition, we are much more prone to anxiety and distress in all its forms. Get enough sleep, and maintain a balanced diet.

4. Exercise

Practicing moderate exercise on a regular basis helps to "disconnect" from those experiences or ideas that worry us excessively, which allows us to face those problems in a constructive way.This allows us to face those problems in a constructive way.

Looking for psychological treatment?

Fortunately, with the help of professional psychologists, it is possible to learn how to prevent and buffer the emotional impact of negative automatic thoughts.

If you are interested in having psychotherapeutic support from professionals with many years of experience, we invite you to contact our team of psychologists. In Cribecca psychology attend both in person at our center in Seville and through online therapy by video call, and we have professionals specializing in different areas of emotional well-being and trained to help people of all ages. Puedes ver más información sobre nuestro centro, así como nuestros datos de contacto, en esta página.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Joormann, J.; Dkane, M.; Gotlib, I. H. (2006). Adaptive and maladaptive components of rumination? Diagnostic specificity and relation to depressive biases. Behavior Therapy. 37(3): pp. 269 - 280.
• McLaughlin, K.; Behar, E.; Borkovec, T. (2005). Family history of psychological problems in generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology 64(7): pp. 905 - 918.
• McLaughlin, Katie A.; Borkovec, Thomas D.; Sibrava, Nicholas J. (2007). The effects of worry and rumination on affect states and cognitive activity. Behavior Therapy. 38(1): pp. 23 - 38.
• Nolen-Hoeksema, S (2000). "The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms". Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 109(3): pp. 504 - 511.