Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Greek Stoic philosopher, Epictetus, emphasized that we are upset, not by what happens to us, but rather by our thoughts and interpretations of those events. A significant advance in this ancient theory occurred in the 1950s and 1960s when Dr. Albert Ellis, from New York, and Dr. Aaron Beck, from Philadelphia emphasized that the thoughts that upset us when we’re feeling depressed, anxious, or angry are nearly always distorted and illogical. As Dr. Burns emphasized in his book, Feeling Good, depression and anxiety are the world’s oldest cons, because you’re almost always telling yourself something that’s actually untrue. But you probably do not realize that you’re fooling yourself because your negative thoughts, like “I’m a loser,” or “Things are hopeless,” or “I shouldn’t have screwed up” seem as valid and real to you as the skin on your hands.
In this podcast, David and Fabrice discuss the first four of ten common thought distortions that trigger negative feelings: All-or-Nothing Thinking, Overgeneralization, Mental Filter, and Discounting the Positive. Dr. Burns explains that each negative distortion also has a mirror-image positive version as well, and these positive distortions trigger hatred, violence, narcissism, and mania, as well as habits and addictions. See if you can recognize some of your own distorted thinking patterns as you listen to this podcast!
Hi Dr Burns,first of all, I wanted to say thank you for sharing with us this useful content of CBT through a podcast. I enjoyed when you talk about the challenges that you too have to endure sometimes i.e having to deal with 10 dysfunctional thoughts .Well, this shows that no one is free of these negative thoughts or dysfunctional attitude .However,we can accept,recognise,challenge ,make room for them as they are not going to disappear from our life one day, but can diminish of magnitude over time .I hope I got it right your message.
Cheers-Nikolin
Hi David, I liked your podcast; especially about the positive distortions. However, I disagree with your assessment of depression. I had a clinical depression years ago, and I never go that depressed again. I felt it one time after that, but it was the situation I was in. I had an out of control Bipolar boss and it was quite the experience. After I left, because of him, my depressed feelings lifted. He was impossible. I get depressed sometimes now, but I pull out of it quickly by thinking realistically. I do agree that depression is an imbalance in your thinking. I don’t find that antidepressants are the answer. I know many people on them and they are still depressed. When they start to change their thinking their depression lifts.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment! david
Awesome
Always helpful, thank you !
Thank you Always helpful great job Always great podcast !!!
Great work.You are helping lot of people
Thank you for your kind comment! I will pass it along to Fabrice, too! david
I think that it is so clear that the techniques of Feeling Good should be teached at high schoo. I still remember that I learned some things like the bone structure of a dog that is not a prep school for life at all. Thank you for the great podcast! Enrique
Thanks! Great idea! david
Wonderful, very interesting and enlightening. Love your work!
Thanks, Katie, feedback by yours makes it worthwhile! Tell your friends if you like it, as we are trying to boost our subscribers. david
thanks! d
Thank you both some much for these podcasts, I can’t wait (all or nothing thinking) for the next installments to go live. I assume the others will go live at some point? I’m wondering if it’s my device playing games.
Thanks, I am confused about when the others will go live. We have recorded well over one hundred podcasts so far. If you sign up for free on my website in the upper right hand corner of any page you’ll do better, perhaps. Thanks! d
Dear David, Although none of your podcasts as far as I know mentioned self sabtogaing or self destructive thinkng I have been able to stop all of mine because of your positive work.I started thinking that the past is done and over and I was being really self centered by doing this not to mention being destructive to my family too. I really thank you for your work that all points into the direction of healthy thinking positive self worth and love. I am really looking forward to each day now.Iam a strong person who can go through anything and come out shining. Thanks for your help though
Sounds terrific. Thanks for emailing me! All the best, david
Thank you, Dr. Burns, for describing the thought distortions so clearly in another great podcast!
I have a follow up on Fabrice’s question, about patients who cannot pinpoint the thoughts underlying their anxiety. I often wake up feeling incredibly anxious the very first thing in the morning—with heart racing and other physiological symptoms. I’ve tried to pinpoint the underlying thought distortions, but I don’t feel awake enough to have any thoughts yet. It really feels like something organic is going on. Would you have any advice on how to handle this? I have friends who suffer from the same problem.
Thank you!
You can just make up some negative thoughts. You can also ask yourself if something upsetting is happening in your life. If you use the search function, you can find one or two additional podcasts on what to do when you think you can’t pinpoint your negative thoughts. Thanks! david
Dr. Burns
Similar to a previous poster, I have sabotaged many relationships before they had a chance to become good friends by my distorted, irrational thinking. I excused myself by reasoning that I had childhood traumas. I realize I wanted to change and let those thoughts go, but they were familiar and a convenient excuse.
I also had classic examples of Discounting the Positive. For 15 years I taught massage therapy and each semester concluded with a teacher and course evaluation by the students. Twenty-eight of thirty would praise me for being an excellent instructor who provided a great learning environment; but I would focus on the two who were negatively critical and wondered how I could have reached them better. Fortunately I had a good administrator who said that the two were not defining me, but rather revealing how they think and their comments really had nothing to do with me.
I feel that through your podcasts and information I feel better and more hopeful than I have in my life. Thank you, and Fabrice.
Hi Roy, Thanks again for the kind comment. I am 90% in agreement with you, but am not a fan of your administrator’s claim that the negative comments by two students “really had nothing to do with me.”
I would prefer to learn from criticism’s, as my worst critics usually turn out to be my best teachers~ Self-Defense, of course, is important, but Acceptance is tremendously important, too!
Warmly, david PS If you read my books, like Feeling Good, it will accelerate your learning! Also, if you want to bring your relationship work and understanding up to the next level, my book, Feeling Good Together might also be helpful to you!
Dr. Burns
Thank you for your comments. In retrospect, over the 15 years of teaching, there were several negative criticisms that I acted on to improve my lesson presentations, etc., especially in the first few years. Later in my teaching career I read some criticisms as personal attacks rather than useful criticisms or a complaint about one incident in a full semester.
I am reading Feeling Good, and taking plenty of time to ponder what you have written. I turned to you and your approach because I was in a form of depression resulting from distorted cognition. Last night I was triggered again and found I was feeling hurt. It took a very brief while to realized what I was thinking, the distortion, and a little bit longer to form a rational response. It was a matter of moments rather than days or weeks. I understand I can quickly fall into a mood and now I have some tools to deal with it rather than wallow in self-pity.
Again I am grateful for you, and what you have written and said. I know I am at the start of this recovery journey and I will trip and fall on the way – but I am making progress.
Hi Roy, Thanks, and kudos on your hard but exciting work on your journey to enlightenment. And you’ve already confirmed at least one thing that the Buddha said: “We are always drifting in and out of enlightenment.” Tho “our” portion sucks, but is inherent in the journey and the never-ending growth. Warmly, david