Healthy Thought Patterns
(Part II)
Module II | Session Five
Overview
M2 | Session Five: Healthy Thought Patterns (Part II)
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Defining Healthy Thoughts
Positive Inner Thought Process
Healthy Assumptions
Session Skill: Healthy Thoughts
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Healthy Thoughts
healthy- adj: indicative of, conducive to, or promoting good health.
Unhealthy thought patterns are those that do not promote good health, are unhelpful, ineffective, or unsafe for you.
Healthy thought patterns are those which are helpful, effective and safe.
Helpful Assumptions
An assumption is a belief that cannot be proved, but we agree to abide by it anyway.
Cognitive distortion are also assumptions-however, they are unhelpful.
These assumptions will help you regulate your emotions and improve your outlook on life.
We are all doing the best we are currently capable of doing.
All people at any given point are doing the best they can.
We all want to improve.
The common characteristic of all people is that they want to improve their lives and be happy.
We may not have caused all of our own problems, but we all have to solve them anyway.
People have to change their own behavioral responses and alter their environment for their life to change.
We want to do better, try harder, and be more motivated to change.
The fact that people are doing the best they can, and want to do even better, does not mean that these things are enough to solve the problem.
Positive Inner Thoughts
Often we see things in life, as well ourselves and others, as good or bad. This is often to protect ourselves and to keep us from getting hurt. These are often the only ways we are taught to see things, but there are more useful tools to guide our thoughts.
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Helpful vs. Unhelpful
Helpful : thoughts or actions which advance you towards your goals and emotional wellbeing
Unhelpful : thoughts or behaviors which detract from your goals and emotional wellbeing
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Effective vs. Ineffective
Effective : thoughts or actions which advance you towards your goals
Ineffective : thoughts or actions which move you away from your goals
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Safe vs. Unsafe
Safe : actions or behaviors that promote physical and emotional safety
Unsafe : actions or behaviors that risk your physical and emotional safety.
Session Skill
Emotion Checker
Think of a particular or recent event/interaction to process.
(E.g. “My supervisor sent me a calendar invite for this Friday.”)
List all of your current problematic thoughts or behaviors relating to the situation.
(E.g. “I’m going to be fired”, “I’m getting a write up for something”, “My boss must be upset with me.”
Look at Module 2, Lesson 2 for examples of negative thought patterns)
Examine each thought with the following questions:
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What is the evidence for my prediction?
What is the evidence against my prediction?
What is the worst that could happen?
What could I do to cope with the worst-case scenario?
What is the best that could happen?
What is the most likely thing that will happen?
What are the consequences of worrying about this?
What is a more helpful way to view the situation?
What advice would I give to a friend feeling this way?
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Is this thought helpful or unhelpful? Why?
Is this thought effective or ineffective? Why?
Is my way of handling this situation safe or unsafe? Why?
What helpful assumption could I apply to this situation?
Source: Center of Clinical Intervention