Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) are negative thought patterns that spontaneously arise in the mind without conscious effort. These thoughts often appear quickly and can seem like they come out of nowhere. They are a common experience, but can become problematic when they dominate one’s thinking.
Why Do We Have Automatic Negative Thoughts?
- The Brain’s Negativity Bias: Our brains are naturally wired to pay more attention to potential threats than positive or neutral stimuli. This negativity bias, a survival mechanism, means that negative thoughts are more likely to grab our attention. The brain is structured to focus on potential dangers and can activate stress responses even in response to self-critical thoughts.
- Habitual Thinking: ANTs can become ingrained habits that are “fast, unconscious, automatic, and effortless”. These repeated thought patterns can affect how we evaluate ourselves, and the process of thinking negatively can become more impactful than the content of those thoughts.
- Emotional Triggers: Automatic thoughts are often linked to underlying, earlier developed fears. They can also be triggered by specific situations, resulting in feelings of anxiety, stress, or depression. Emotions like anger, anxiety, and depression each have their own specific types of automatic thoughts.
- Past Experiences: Past experiences, particularly negative or traumatic ones, can contribute to the development of negative thought patterns. If an individual experienced rejection, for example, this may contribute to automatic thoughts that people are likely to reject them.
- Self-Criticism: Negative self-judgement is a common cause of ANTs, and it can trigger a fear of others’ negative judgements. This self-criticism can originate in beliefs about not being good enough or feeling unworthy.
- Perfectionism and Control: The need to be in control and the tendency towards perfectionism can create automatic negative thoughts because not being perfect or being in control can be seen as a negative.
What Can Individuals Do to Help Themselves?
It is important to note that trying to stop or erase negative thoughts is not effective. Trying to suppress unwanted thoughts can actually strengthen them. Instead, individuals can focus on developing new ways to relate to and manage their automatic negative thoughts:
- Acknowledge and Identify ANTs: The first step is to become aware of negative thoughts as they arise. Simply acknowledging that a thought is negative and not helpful can be a starting point. It can help to label the thoughts as “worry” or “rumination” to recognise them as non-productive.
- Challenge and Reframe Negative Thoughts: Once you identify an automatic negative thought, it is important to question its validity. Ask yourself: “Is it true?” or “Can I absolutely know that it is true?”. This involves looking for evidence against the negative thought. Then, reframe the negative thought with a more balanced perspective. For example, if you think “I am going to fail”, try reframing that to “I am going to do my best”. If you notice that you tend to use absolute words like “always” and “never”, try to replace them with more flexible phrasing.
- Create Distance From Thoughts: Instead of getting caught up in negative thoughts, create some space from them. This could involve prefacing evaluative statements with “I am having the thought that…” to recognise that a thought is simply a thought, rather than a fact. It can also be helpful to label a frequent thought process, almost like naming a film.
- Focus on Coping Thoughts: Actively focus on generating coping thoughts which are likely to have a positive effect on your emotional state. It is useful to watch out for words like “must” or “should” because they create a rule that must be followed. Replacing “I should” with “I’d like to” can create a kinder, gentler way of thinking.
- Journaling: Writing down your thoughts can help you view them with fresh eyes and see them as separate from yourself. This practice can also reveal trends and themes in your thinking that you may not have noticed. It can also help to record your thoughts when your mood shifts from positive to negative, helping you to recognise what triggers these shifts.
- Mindfulness: This practice encourages you to observe your thoughts without judgment. By noticing thoughts as passing impressions and ideas, you can break the habit of mistaking thoughts for reality. Mindful breathing can help calm the nervous system and reduce the impact of negative thoughts.
- Acceptance and Self-Compassion: Accept that negative thoughts are a normal part of life and that everyone experiences them. Be kind to yourself when you notice negative thinking without harshness and self-judgement. Remember that staying with pain without self-compassion is simply warfare.
- “Stop” Technique: When you recognise you are having negative thoughts, you can try cutting them off immediately. You can try yelling “Stop” either internally or out loud and immediately shift your focus on something else.
- Mental Hygiene: Just as you maintain your personal hygiene, ensure you devote time to your mental well-being. Negative thoughts are like cobwebs that obscure and constrict the mind. Maintenance involves recognising negative patterns and deciding to do something about them.
- Focus on Solutions: Avoid overthinking and dwelling on the negative, try to focus on finding a solution.
Summary
Automatic Negative Thoughts are spontaneous, negative thought patterns that are influenced by our negativity bias, habitual thinking, emotional triggers and past experiences. Instead of fighting against these thoughts, the most effective approach is to acknowledge and identify them, challenge and reframe them, create distance from them, and practise mindfulness and self-compassion. Techniques such as journaling, focusing on coping thoughts, and actively shifting the focus on solutions can help individuals manage the impact of ANTs.
Tags: automatic negative thoughts, ANTs, negative thinking, thought patterns, mental well-being, mindfulness, self-compassion, thought management, emotional regulation