Stopping and Challenging ANTs – Automatic Negative Thoughts
Stopping our ANTs is going to be an important concept and action to take. ANTs stands for Automatic Negative Thoughts. Thoughts are constantly going through our minds. Every thought we have may produce chemicals to be released by the brain. When we think negative thoughts, it releases chemicals that cause the body to feel sad, depressed, down, angry, upset, anxious, and stressed. When we have positive thoughts, it has the opposite effect, releasing chemicals that help us feel ok, happy, content, engaged, energized, etc. Thoughts create feelings, and feelings create action. The feelings and the chemicals being released also impact the body. Negative thoughts have many different negative impacts on the body and the mind.
There are several different kinds of ANTs. Below is the list of the different kinds.
Fortune Telling
This is the ANT of almost anyone who has a panic disorder. They are masterful at predicting the worst, even though they don’t have any evidence.
Mind Reading
Where you arbitrarily believe that you know what someone else is thinking, even though they didn’t tell you. Many people do this, and more often than not, it gets them into trouble. It’s a major reason why people have trouble in relationships.
Guilt Beatings
Thinking with words like should, must, ought, and have to. The words we use to talk to ourselves are very important. Guilt is not a very good motivator for change. Telling yourself, “I should go see my grandmother,” rather than “I want to spend time with my grandmother,” only serves to make you feel negative.
Blame
Whenever you blame someone else for the problems in your life, you are a victim, and you can’t do anything to change it. Many of us play the blame game, but it rarely helps us. Stay away from blaming thoughts and take personal responsibility for changing the problems you have.
Labeling
Calling yourself or someone else a derogatory name. This diminishes your ability to see situations clearly. Labels are very harmful.
Whenever you find yourself feeling mad, sad, nervous, or out of control, write down the feeling you are having at that moment, name it, and write down the cause that sparked the ANT.
Then identify what your initial automatic negative thought was. Next, look at the list and identify what kind of ANT you are dealing with. At this point, you have the key information to stomp on that ANT. So take a few minutes and write down some opposite thoughts that are more positive or realistic to the situation. Does it have any impact on how you are feeling? If not, maybe keep thinking about even more possible ways to view what caused your ANT.
This isn’t an easy process, by any means. It takes time to work through these ANTs that have been crawling into our lives for some time. The more you challenge these negative thoughts, the more you have an impact on taking away the ANT’s power, giving you the ability to take control of your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Use this section below to work through some ANTs.
Are there any recent ones you can think of that you can use to go through the process of stomping out? If not, remember this page and see if you can come back here when an ANT does run through your mind. As you go on your journey, you may find other negative thoughts that have been following you around for some time. If you do, come back here and put your discoveries into writing.
Step 1: When you feel negative feelings, write the feeling (“I was feeling really upset”).
Step 2: Write down the situation that triggered the feeling (“I tripped and knocked over some plants in the lobby”).
Step 3: Write down your automatic thought that started the feeling (“I thought that everyone must be looking at me like I’m completely stupid”).
Step 4: Identify what ANTs you are dealing with and write them down (labeling).
Step 5: Challenge the automatic thought and try to look at the situation from a different perspective (“I’ve seen others trip and knock things over before, and I just felt bad and wanted to help. Others were probably feeling the same, recognizing we all have those moments.”).