Dysfunctional Thought Record Hello and good day to everyone, today ill be commenting on Dysfunctional Thought Records, discussing dysfunctional thoughts and ways to develop healthier responses in functioning. Imagine that you sought treatment for depression and learned to construe events more positively and to curb your all or nothing thinking. Imagine that your therapist also helps to identify activities and behaviors that would promote greater fulfillment and lessen your depression. Therapist Aaron Beck often encourages his clients to record their thoughts in a thought journal.

When a client notices their mood getting worse, they ask themselves, “what is going through my mind right now? ” then as soon as possible they jot down the thought or mental image in the automatic thought column. Then the client with the therapist can compare the thoughts with reality, detecting and correcting faulty thinking. In Therapist Aaron Beck’s cognitive-behavior therapy, clients are first taught to recognize and keep track of their thoughts. Then the therapist trains the client to develop ways to test these automatic thoughts against reality.

This first approach helps the client to recognize that these negative attitudes are a product of unrealistic or faulty thought process. For example the first step in overcoming negative thoughts is to become aware of the thoughts, and of their effects. Negative thoughts make you feel bad – anxious, sad, depressed, hopeless, guilty, angry. Instead of being overwhelmed by these feelings, you can learn to use them as a cue for action. Notice when your mood changes for the worse, and look back at what was running through your mind at that moment.

In the second phase of the therapy clients are encouraged to actively pursue pleasurable activities. Taking an active rather than a passive role and reconnecting with enjoyable experiences help in recovering and reconnecting. Thoughts can trap you in a vicious circle. The more depressed you become, the more negative thoughts you have, and the more you believe them. The more negative thoughts you have, and the more you believe them, the more depressed you become. The main goal of cognitive therapy is to help you to break out of this vicious circle. At first, you may not find it easy to atch and answer your thoughts. Answering negative thoughts is like any other skill, it takes time and regular practice to be able to do it with ease. The best way to become aware of negative thoughts is to write them down as soon as they occur on a Dysfunctional Thoughts Record in the following way: Date & Time Situation 1) What event or stream of thoughts, or daydreams, or recollection led to the unpleasant emotion? 2) What (if any) distressing physical sensations did you have? Automatic thoughts 1) What thoughts and / or images went through your mind? 2) How much did you believe each one at the time?

Emotions 1) What emotion(s) (sad, anxious, angry, etc. ) did you feel at the time? 2) How intense (0-100%) was the emotion? Alternative Response 1) (optional) What cognitive distortion did you make? 2) Use the questions at the bottom of the page to compose a response to the Automatic Thoughts 3) How much do you believe each response? Outcome 1) How much do you now believe each automatic thought? 2) What emotion do you feel now? How intense (0-100%) is the emotion? 3) What will you do? (or did you do) In conclusion: Sometimes, our emotional state is directly tied to the way we think.

By changing the way one thinks about an event or challenging an event, one is in better position to change the feelings that one experiences. Dysfunctional thought record is a method to examining the thoughts that lead to the feelings that you are experiencing. Distress is caused by mistaken thoughts and these thinking errors are caused by habits of thinking that are exaggerated. The dysfunctional thought record helps identify these errors so that a person can replace them with accurate ways of thought. References: Carpenter, S. , & Huffman, K. (2010). Visualizing Psychology (2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc