something from class...

[elvendoll]

...in the chapter on depression, the book brings up a concept of "automatic thought", which is explained as short thoughts that go through your head repeatedly / at random over a period of time (days, weeks, months)... it mentions that depressed people have negative automatic thoughts, but it doesn't state whether all people have them. and instead of a google search, i'm just going to ask here - do you have automatic thoughts?
(i wouldn't ask anyone to share theirs, but if you wanna say if they're negative, positive or neutral, that'd be cool, too)

Comments

[starchy.livejournal.com]

There are plenty of thoughts that appear in my lil' ol' brain regularly, but how the hell can they be shown to be "automatic?" It's not as if we really choose to think other thoughts as such. By the time we could make a decision about them, they've been thunk.

[elvendoll.livejournal.com]

these would be like catch phrases - like, for a depressed person, their inside voice would say something like "i'm not good enough" randomly throughout the day...

[starchy.livejournal.com]

Yes, I understand the idea behind the phrase. But how can we show that the tendency to think certain things repeatedly involves anything resembling automation of those thoughts?

[elvendoll.livejournal.com]

i think the name implies that there is a lack of direct cause and intention to the thought/timing of its occurance. and i'm not advocating or arguing, the name right now, i'm just curious if that happens to you : )

[starchy.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. And I would have to say that, yes, there are certain recurring thoughts with no obvious cause that I have.

[elvendoll.livejournal.com]

cool, thanks : )


*awaits responses from others*

[waltherp.livejournal.com]

hmm zum Beispiel (sorry, that's a cliche that's running around in my head and I can't get rid of it, and hey, once it's been thunk, it can't be unthunk... (

err..

If a thought occurs to me, such as "I'm not good enough", of course it can't be unthunk, but you can immediately think outloud to yourself "I am Good enough" or whatever. My theory is that if you think a thought out loud to yourself enough, it will become "automatic", and then thus you can become a more positive person. Just a theory. I haven't bothered to try to test it.

thought automation

[(Anonymous)]

Yes automatic thoughts happen all the time think. Honestly I dont even think you have to be depressed or be in a state of depression. Thoughts having to do with money, companionship, or general worries about our basic needs etc seem to play large roles in 'automatic thought'

Brendon

[sol3.livejournal.com]

I have lots of thoughts that jump through my head - some of them are one shots, some come into my head and go into these repeating loops until i pay attention to/deal with them. Sometimes it's things related to what i'm working on - alternate ideas, criticisms, insults, othertimes they're complete nonsequiters.

Sometimes it gets in the way of conversations and/or work, so it can be frustrating.

[narnee.livejournal.com]

and instead of a google search, i'm just going to ask here - do you have automatic thoughts?

Yes.

[waltherp.livejournal.com]

I do. I kinda knew I had "automatic" bad thoughts already, but it was made a bit more obvious to me during my stay in France. I use the term "automatic" with the meaning that it's like a habit, and like a habit, it won't go away easily. I say that it was made clear to me. When I met a german, who spoke English very well having spent a lot of time in England, at the French language school in Annecy France, and he asked me how my food was, and I replied "Not bad", he jumped on me telling me I was always negative and that it "was GOOD!" and simply "not bad".

I thought about it and realized that I defineatly have a tendancy to use a negative to negate a negative word, rather than using a positive adjective to describe something, particularly when it refers to me.

Like any habit, I think it can be changed, but it'll take a bit of effort.

wonder what everyone else had to say on this.

[ged.livejournal.com]

I have a series of positive automatic thoughts. Things like "I'm so glad I'm married", "the kids are wonderful", "I'm going to get a big, fat check". I believe in self-fulfilling prophecies.