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Automatic Thoughts - An Article by Insight Wellness Staff

 
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Seabrez



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Posts: 4458
Location: Gulf Coast

PostPosted: October 31, 2008 8:27 PM    Post subject: Automatic Thoughts - An Article by Insight Wellness Staff Reply with quote

Cruising the web tonight and stumbled upon this jewel. I've been one who firmly believes that the heart and mind have the biggest influence in quitting. I've always known how the heart...what we deeply believe within...shapes our thinking, which in turn determines our responses and reactions in life. And this article brings this to light.

So, how do we use this information and apply it's principle to quitting? Mainly, we have to check those deep seated beliefs we hold onto because they will be reflected in our quitting experience. For example, if one believes they can not cope without smoking, they may abstain from smoking for awhile, but as soon as crisis or stresses appear, they will seek out the cigarette, because they believe they need it to handle such instances. Another example, one may believe that it is their only relief in life, a pleasure they enjoy during a quiet moment. So, when they need to find solitude and contentment, they will turn to the cigarette for comfort. There are many such examples we could use. The core reasons we believed inside as to our relationship with cigarettes and smoking. We all had them, in one form or another. We were attached physical, mentally, emotionally, and yes, even spiritually on some level...at the heart level...the belief level.

FFS calls these backdoors reasons and excuses. Deep seated strongholds are what I call them. For that is exactly what they are...a "strong" "hold" over our minds and hearts. We come to grips that we have these inner beliefs...but how do we change our heart...our perspective? Very simply...we trade those myths...those beliefs held in err for the truth. We can only erase these by means of renewing, changing, and altering them. And that is accomplished by hearing the truth and believing it in the place of what we previously held in the heart. Whyquit has listed some of these in the article called "Nicodemon's Lies".

Renewing....that's the key. It's replacing the old ways of believing and thinking. It's those light bulb moments, those "ah" moments that just sink into our soul and being and become part of who we are. These are the lasting changes of believing. Not just looking and gazing on them, and then going on....but letting them sink deep inside, being anchored and rooted within. With the heart changes....come a natural and free flowing thinking that results in our attitude to stay free and following that course.

So, as one begins or even as one progresses in the quit journey...pay close attention to those "whys" that come to mind, and learn to identify them. Seeking to overcome those old beliefs by replacing them with the truth.

Keep the quit going strong!
Hugs


http://www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com/insight_answers/Automatic_Thoughts.php#
Insight Wellness Staff Article
Automatic Thoughts

By Nan Little
Oct 23, 2007 - 3:02:17 PM

Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on how our thoughts create our feelings, and our feelings cause us to behave the way we do. Most of the thoughts that we have in any given situation are called automatic thoughts. They’re referred to as “automatic” because we don’t create them; they are based on beliefs we have about ourselves and the world in which we live. When we understand how our automatic thoughts create our feelings and, in turn, our behavior, we can seek to change our automatic thoughts by changing our deeply-held core beliefs.

When we are in a situation, thoughts about what is going on around and inside of us are flying through our heads. If someone cuts us off in traffic, we may have an automatic thought: “That is so rude and dangerous!” This thought will then spark a feeling of anger. If we feel angry, we may scream and yell in our car, catch up with the person and shoot them an angry gesture or carry that anger home with us and yell at our loved ones. That single automatic thought starts a chain reaction that upsets us and possibly the people around us. We think that our automatic thought is right, but there are actually many different thoughts that we might have in the same situation.

The automatic thought in the situation depicted is based on a core belief: “People should never make mistakes and, if they do, they should be punished.” When we feel anger, we are trying to punish the person who made the mistake. We usually end up punishing ourselves instead with our own upset feelings.

What would the automatic thought be if we changed the belief? If we believed instead, “People make mistakes from time to time for a variety of reasons, and they are not doing it purposefully to hurt me,” we might think, “Uh-oh! That was a close one!” and continue driving down the road emotionally unaffected. We might think, “They must not have been paying attention.” We don’t have to react with anger. The situation is the same, but the different automatic thoughts shape how the situation feels and how we react.

Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on changing our core beliefs so that we have healthier, less destructive automatic thoughts. Most of us are unaware of the nature of our automatic thoughts, and CBT helps us become aware of this process and the effect our automatic thoughts are having. If we are walking around constantly angry, sad, upset or hurt, our automatic thoughts are where the problem begins. According to CBT, it isn’t the situation that is the problem; it is the automatic thoughts we’re experiencing in the situation that create the idea of a problem.

Author: Nan Little
Website: http://www.InsightJournal.com/


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Deb

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corn 5:17 NASB
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kevin
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PostPosted: October 31, 2008 8:47 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

that's so true; good find, deb! Smile
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kevin

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Seabrez



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Posts: 4458
Location: Gulf Coast

PostPosted: November 1, 2008 2:54 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Kevin!

Hugs
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Deb

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corn 5:17 NASB
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