ANT's in Your HEAD not just in your Pants!

We've all heard the term, Ant's in your Pants, you know when your so excited, nervous, or anxious about something that you just can't sit still to save your life? Well have you ever considered the ANT's in your head?? Well it's a thing.

The ANT's in your head are the automatic negative thoughts that sometimes can plague our mind. Back in the 1960s, the pioneer of cognitive-behavioral theory Aaron Beck examined three related thought schemas that are related to decreased wellbeing and performance. Known as the negative cognitive triad, these are having negative thoughts about oneself, the world or environment, and the future, and often manifest on a subconscious, instinctive level that are based on a distorted view of past experiences. Beck and other proponents of cognitive-behavioral theory held that these thoughts underlie a cognitive-behavioral cycle that becomes self-sustaining if not corrected.

This cycle usually starts when something happens or is anticipated, which triggers automatic thoughts. When negative, you can experience distressing feelings and physical symptoms, which often result in harmful behavior that worsens the situation and others’ reaction. Unfortunately, the cycle repeats and is reinforced unless an intervention takes place by challenging the perspective of reality that the interpretations and assumptions are based on.

So, let’s talk about your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) and how to verify if they represent the objective reality. Armed with a less emotional and more objective perspective, you will be able to react to life events as they really are, not as they seem. For instance, you may think “I cannot ever trust anyone.” But, is this really true? The chances are good that there is someone in your life whom you can trust. It's true that you can’t trust all people all of the time, but if you take it slow and reason objectively, you will be able to identify at least a few trustworthy friends or family. By challenging your automatic negative thought, you prove to yourself that it is okay to trust a close friend, partner, or family member when the right circumstances are in place.

This allows us to take a breath, step back from the negative thought or difficult situation and try to look calmly at the presented facts. It is very likely that you are viewing a situation through a biased or emotional lens, which opens the door to make incorrect assumptions that spur on negative thoughts, distressing feelings, and harmful behavior.

Let me give you an example of how this works. Consider this hypothetical situation: You had "words" with Sam from accounting and feel depressed and anxious about it. Shortly after this, you see him walking in the corridor. He walks past very quickly without saying anything. You might think he is ignoring you because he is still angry which causes your anxiety to grow stronger.

Now consider this: You feel amazing because you just received a compliment about your work from your boss - Sam from accounting was present in the room. Shortly after this, you see him walking in the corridor. He walks past very quickly without saying anything. You might think he is avoiding you because he is jealous. You feel annoyed that he would be jealous because you received the praise.

These are two different situations in which your colleague exhibits the same behavior. After considering your past experiences with Sam, you may recognize that you have never known him to exhibit any angry, jealous, or grudging behavior. In fact, in both cases, it is more probable that Sam is in a hurry because HE has a HUGE deadline. And that’s all there is to it. The empirical fact suggests that attributing Sam’s actions to his being in a hurry is the more realistic and accurate explanation.

Although there may be a small grain of truth to negative thoughts, they are seldom always or entirely true in every situation. That is why you should challenge negative thoughts using the “thought trap challenge”.

The thought trap challenge consists of five ways to challenge unhelpful thoughts. They are questions and techniques to help you objectively assess and overcome the negative thought trap. I’ll go over them briefly, I challenge you to use these nifty questions when you see negative thoughts creeping into your daily life.

1 - Put your money where your mouth is. You may worry about things that are unlikely to happen. Ask yourself how much of your own money you would bet on it really happening.

2. - Stay Present. Bad things will happen, still, you may exaggerate the consequences. Using this challenge, you learn to put a rein on the stress of worrying about the “what ifs” by only focusing on what is actually present at the moment.

3. - Weigh the evidence. You may be missing or misinterpreting important evidence. If you objectively look for and at those facts, your stress might lessen.

4. - The history challenge. Take a step back and consider the consequences in the long run. Ask yourself “Will this still matter next week, next year or even in five years?"

5. - The worthiness challenge. Ask yourself whether you are spending too much time worrying or stressing about things that don’t deserve it your energy. It's ok to observe the worry or stress and acknowledge it, but then move on so that you don't zap yourself of precious energy.

So, there you have it. Five nifty questions that will help you to fact check your ANTS and get them out of your head!

Sending you light and love always!