Goals of Thinking Better

To manage chronic pain, it can be helpful to understand self-defeating thinking habits, identify your own self-defeating thoughts, challenge them, and replace them with thoughts that are helpful. Certain kinds of thoughts amplify the pain you feel, making you hurt more than you have to. Other kinds of thoughts can reduce the pain you feel.

In Thinking Better, you will learn what kind of thinking hurts and what kind of thinking helps. Helpful thinking is realistic, hopeful, and reassuring. These thoughts help you avoid being overly pessimistic, focus on problem solving, and feel calm, optimistic and confident.

learn about self-defeating thoughts

Learn about the features of self-defeating thoughts

track your self-defeating thoughts

Monitor your thoughts and identify your own examples of self-defeating thoughts

challenge and replace

Actively challenge and replace your self-defeating thoughts with helpful thoughts

practice helpful thinking

Learn to actively build helpful thinking into your everyday life

Introduction to Thinking Better

recognize, identify, challenge, and replace

Learning activities

Recognize Self-Defeating Thoughts

Some thoughts are self-defeating and some are helpful. Learn how to recognize self-defeating thoughts that trigger negative emotions.

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Identify Your Self-Defeating Thoughts

Now that you know what a “self-defeating thought” looks like, it is time to identify your own. Simply noticing or observing your thoughts will help.

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Challenge and Replace Self-Defeating Thoughts

Challenge the validity of self-defeating thoughts and learn to replace them with thoughts that are helpful and reassuring.

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Practice Helpful Thinking

Learn to make helpful thinking part of your daily life by creating a list of your own helpful thoughts, such as “My life has changed, but it is still good.”

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