In the introductory video to Thinking Better, you learned that your thoughts can significantly influence your experience of pain. Some thoughts can be self-defeating, while others are helpful.
Self-defeating thoughts often trigger a cycle of negative consequences, including heightened negative emotions, additional harmful thoughts, and an increased perception of pain. In contrast, helpful thoughts can neutralize negative emotions, foster productive thinking, and make managing chronic pain more effective.
alarming
Alarming thoughts may make you feel afraid, worried, alone, helpless, hopeless, angry, or depressed. Alarming thoughts often contain emotional words and ideas involving danger, hopelessness, isolation, abandonment, or failure.
Regarding “I’ll never get better,” this thought might trigger sadness and fear. The thought of never seeing improvement is depressing and scary. It sounds like there is no hope of anything good in the future. This thought may make some people feel angry.
unrealistic
Unrealistic thoughts involve unlikely events or consequences of pain. Such thoughts often contain extreme words or ideas. Look for words like never, always, impossible, can’t, won’t, or forever.
Regarding “I’ll never get better,” never is an extreme word. It is generally not accurate to say something is never possible. Rarely is something unlikely to ever occur. People with chronic pain can improve; they can learn to manage their pain.
passive
Passive thoughts cast you as a victim and don’t suggest solutions to your problems. They make you feel helpless. Some passive thoughts give control to someone else, such as a doctor, spouse or other family members.
Regarding “I’ll never get better,” this thought has no suggestion of personal control. There is no hint that there may be a solution. This thought makes it seem as though passive waiting is the only option.
understand, identify, challenge and replace, practice
