Do you struggle with negative thought patterns? Faulty thinking that can get you caught in a downward spiral and often lead to hopelessness.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy:
- looks at what is true vs. what is imagined.
- is the first step is to confronting the truthfulness of our thoughts and beliefs.
- addresses the hopelessness of our faulty thinking.
Automatic thoughts are the thoughts that we cannot seem to control. Negative Automatic Thoughts or "NATs" may be swirling around our mind. These automatic thoughts are rooted in our core beliefs.
When someone you know doesn't greet you in the store as you pass them, if your Core Belief is " If people really knew me, they would think I was a weak, uninteresting person." Your Negative Automatic Thought may be, "She must not like me, she didn't even smile at me." The truth is she didn't notice you because she was in a hurry to pick up a few groceries before her children come home from school.
If "I'm not worth anything" is the core belief, this belief contributes to the automatic thought, "She must not like me." Our thoughts stir up emotions - we feel rejected, embarrassed, jealous, unloved, angry, and/or depressed. Our emotions then affect our behavior. We stay home rather than going to lunch with a friend because "nobody likes me, I just don't fit in."
Our thoughts lead to feelings. Our feelings/emotions attribute to our behavior. Our behavior reinforces our thoughts.
There is generally an event that triggers your thoughts. Your husband brings home flowers. You have the thought "My husband loves me." You feel loved and appreciated, you respond with a big bear hug.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy is not new. We have some excellent examples in the Bible. The Ephesians were constantly falling back into "futile" thinking.
"You must no longer live as the Gentiles (unbelievers) do in the futility of their thinking." Ephesians 4:17
The definition of futile is pointless, useless, thoughtless, or faulty thinking patterns.
In Ephesians 4, Paul contrast the old patterns of faulty thinking with the new patterns of truthful thinking.
Old Pattern of Faulty Thinking
Thoughts:
*futile thinking
*darkened in understanding (lost touch with reality)
*ignorance due to hardening of their hearts (no sense of shame)
*corrupted
*doubt
*success equals fame and fortune
*I don't need God, it's all up to me
*I'm not worth anything
Feelings
*worry
*lost all sensitivity - numb to feelings
*bitterness, rage, anger, hatred
*depression
Behavior
*giving themselves over to sensuality (focused on fulfilling only their senses)
*deceitful desires (lies and pretense)
*indulge in every kind of impurity - substance addiction, relationships,
pornography, social status, money, ect.
*stealing
*brawling (fighting)
*malice (wanting to hurt people)
New Pattern of Thinking Based on Truth
Thoughts
*taught in Christ in accordance with the truth (who God says you are)
*put off your old self, put on the new self
*put off falsehood
*speak truthfully
Feelings
*new in the attitude of your minds
*love
*hopeful
Behavior
*to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
*to do something useful, share with others in need
*to no longer live as without hope
*build others up with your words
*be kind, loving, gentle and forgiving
Our core beliefs are important. Because we base our feelings and actions on our thoughts, our thoughts must be grounded in truth.
When we confront our futile thinking and change our behavior we are doing what Paul tells us to do in verse 22- we "put off our old self and put on the new". We do this with GOD'S TRUTH. God's truth says, you are not worthless.
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