Anxiety and Negative Thoughts

Many people who suffer from anxiety, depression or low self-esteem tend to make negative predictions about how certain situations will turn out. You may tend to:

Overestimate the likelihood that bad things will happen or that something will go wrong

Exaggerate how bad things will be

Underestimate your ability to deal with things if they don’t go well

Ignore other factors in the situation which suggest that things will not be as bad as you are predicting

When you jump to such negative conclusions about the future, you will develop unhelpful behaviours. You may tend to:

Avoid the situation totally
Try the situation out but escape when things seem too difficult
Be overly cautious and engage in safety behaviours

The problem with these strategies is that they prevent you from actually testing your ideas. This makes it very hard for you to ever have a different and (often better) experience from what you imagine, so you continue to expect the worst.

For example, let us pretend you have been invited to a party by ‘Abby’. Your usual response may be to either avoid it altogether; attend but to leave as soon as you feel uncomfortable; or to stand in the corner and only speak to one person you already know. This may help you reduce your discomfort in the short term, but it you will continue to have these thoughts and your anxiety will persist.

Testing and changing our habits

What could have been an alternative way to handle the party situation described above?

A different approach could be to go and try your best to have a nice time and speak to others. (Easier said than done – we know!) Later on you could compare your original gloomy thoughts against your actual experience.

Think of yourself as a scientist, putting your beliefs under the microscope.

Plan

Behavioural ‘tests’ can help you to develop more realistic and/or balanced predictions. It is best to start simply and increase the challenge step-by-step.

Firstly, what is your negative thought or belief? Then rate how strongly you believe it could happen from 0-100 e.g. I will have a terrible time at the party. Even if I try no-one will talk to me. (90)
What is an alternative way to think about it? Rate how strongly you believe this alternative (0-100) e.g. I will find at least one person to talk to and it will be ok (10)
Plan how to test your prediction – when will you do it, how long will it take, and with whom? Try to be as specific as possible e.g. I’ll go to the party at 8pm with a mate, and I will stay for at least one hour. I will try to chat with at least three people, one that I did not know already. I won’t get drunk or wear my headphones.
Identify likely problems and how to deal with them e.g. There might not be anyone I know going to the party. But I know the host. I might offer to help set up and hang with her until I feel more confident.

Evaluating the experience

Carry out your plan. Remember to take notice of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

Write down what happened, what did you observe? Consider the evidence for and against your original prediction.
What did this say about your negative prediction? e.g. I felt terrified at first but I used my breathing exercise to calm myself. Abby seemed happy to talk to me, and I also spoke to Kathryn, who I hadn’t seen in ages. She introduced me to her boyfriend Alex and we had a good chat about uni. At one point I worried I had said something stupid, but Alex didn’t seem to notice, so my worry passed.
What have you learned? e.g. I am capable of making conversation and enjoying myself in a casual social situation.
Rate how strongly you now believe in your original prediction and the alternative from 0-100 e.g. I will have a terrible time at the party. Even if I try to talk to people, no-one will talk to me. (10) or I will find at least one person to talk to and it will be ok. (80)

For example: your goal was to go out to the pub on a weekend night and stay there for two hours. Your distress rating was evaluated at 80. This could be how you might achieve it in stages.

Steps		Distress
		0-100
1.	Go to the local pub on a weekday afternoon (with a friend who knows about the problem), buy a soft drink and stay for 10min	35
2.	Go to the local pub on a weekday afternoon (with a friend who knows about the problem), buy a soft drink and stay for 30min	45
3.	Go to the local pub on a weeknight (with a friend who knows about the problem), staying from 7pm to 8pm	55
4.	Go to the local pub on a weekend night (with a friend who knows about the problem), and stay for 30 minutes.	65
5.	Go to the local pub on a weekday night (with a friend who knows about the problem), staying from 8pm to 10pm	70
6.	Go to the local pub on a weekend night (some of the friends don’t know about the problem), staying from 8pm to 10pm	80