Action
You can change the way you feel by finding comforting things which you can say to yourself and believe in. It is very harmful for you to keep on thinking unrealistic negative thoughts.
Perhaps you don't believe you have the ability to change the way you think. But in cognitive therapy we will help you to make it easier. You can also use the "thought form" below to help you change your negative thoughts.
INSERT THOUGHT FORM HERE!
Realistic goals
It is important that you remain active. Try to learn to set small and realistic goals.
Perhaps you don't believe you have the energy to do anything. But remember that you can increase your energy levels by keeping yourself going. It is therefore important that you are active.
You can keep yourself going if you experience meaningful things. It is therefore also important that you continue to do things that gave you pleasure and interested you in the past.
Action helps
Life gets more manageable when you learn to analyse your thoughts, feelings and actions. This is because the way in which you think and feel is linked to the way in which you act.
You can see the link between thoughts, feelings and actions here:
The above thoughts and feelings can lead to many actions. But these actions can also lead to physical reactions such as:
• tiredness
• periods of intense sweating
• palpitations
Catastrophic thoughts
Depression can lead to many physical symptoms such as tiredness, intense sweating and chest pains.
It can be easy to misinterpret these symptoms and think catastrophic thoughts such as:
• I haven't got the energy to do anything, so I'm no use to anyone anymore
• There is no hope for me
• I am useless at everything
• I am dying
But such thoughts have no basis in reality. Instead you can try to ask yourself what you can say and think that is comforting and healing.
Perhaps you could say to yourself:
• I am not very sociable at the moment but I am still useful
• I am finding things a bit difficult at the moment but it will pass
• I am not feeling all that great at the moment but I will take one thing at a time
• I am vulnerable and hurting a lot at the moment, but anxiety is not dangerous,
and it will pass
It is important to remember that the negative thoughts are symptoms. The foundations of these symptoms can be laid down early in your life and they can therefore be difficult to change.
If you have many catastrophic or negative thoughts and find it difficult to restructure them, you should consider seeking help from a professional cognitive therapist. Break the cycle!