Breaking the Cycle: A Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Automatic Negative Thoughts

Most of us experience involuntary negative thoughts and emotions from time to time. Some examples might include internal statements like:

• “I can’t do this.”
• “It’s all my fault.”
• “Now everything is ruined.”
• “I’m a failure.”

These are called automatic negative thoughts, and they usually strike when we’re anxious or depressed. But despite how isolating they can feel, these thought patterns are extremely common.

In this blog, we define automatic negative thoughts, provide examples, and give you practical steps to help overcome them.

What Are Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)?

Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) are patterns of thinking that cause people to interpret stressful situations negatively without the necessary evidence. This leads to an unbalanced perception that can create feelings of hopelessness, shame, failure, and defeat.

These thoughts are described as automatic because they come about in response to something. We draw conclusions before we’ve had a chance to consider the facts.

Types of Automatic Negative Thoughts

While all ANTs share a common foundation in focusing on the negatives, they may present in different ways. Here are a few automatic negative thought patterns to look out for.

All-or-Nothing Thinking

This pattern makes us see situations as either good or bad, with no middle ground to acknowledge progress or lessons learned. For example, an all-or-nothing ANT might say, “If you don’t reach your full achievement, you failed.”

Jumping to Conclusions

Automatic negative thoughts like to trick us into accepting negative interpretations even when there’s no evidence to back them up. There are two types of thought patterns related to drawing quick conclusions:

1. Fortune telling: You assume the worst will happen no matter what and accept that as fact. 
2. Mind reading: You assume that someone else is having negative thoughts about you without hearing them say anything negative out loud.

Something both of these patterns have in common is that they’re assumptions. Whether they’re based on evidence or not, you can’t prove whether they’re actually true.

Labeling

Labeling happens when you place negative labels on yourself instead of on your situation. For example, instead of thinking, “I made a mistake,” your ANT might say, “I’m a failure.” 

This is a dangerous line of thinking because you’re taking emotionally charged reactions as if they are blemishes on your character.

Catastrophizing or Minimizing

Catastrophizing refers to over-magnifying the importance of a situation, such as the impact of a mistake you made. On the contrary, minimizing leads to undermining the importance of something, such as an accomplishment you’ve achieved.

Disqualifying the Positive

This type of thinking happens when we discount any positive experiences as unrelated to a situation we perceive as negative. Automatic negative thoughts amplify discouragement and downplay anything that challenges them.

How to Stop Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)

Stopping automatic negative thoughts requires you to identify, contextualize, and trial your thoughts to determine their legitimacy. These steps build a solid foundation that will enable you to combat them logically.

1. Identify Your ANTs

You can’t stop your ANTs if you don’t know what they are. That’s why the first step to overcoming automatic negative thoughts lies in identifying them.

Because ANTs are persistent, this can be difficult. Consider keeping a thought journal whenever you’re experiencing negative thoughts to see what patterns surface.

2. Contextualize Your ANTs

Once your ANTs have been identified, add details about the context surrounding them to recognize whether they’re more common during certain situations, times of day, or moods.

Ask yourself:

• What situation is causing these thoughts?
• Who was I with when these surfaced?
• How was I feeling when these developed?

Asking yourself these questions can help you identify even the most stubborn of ANTs and recognize the situations and emotions that may accompany them.

3. Put Your Thoughts on Trial

Once you’ve identified your ANT and some of its surrounding factors, it’s time to put it to the test. Have you felt this way in the past? What was the result? Did your fears come true?

Make two columns on paper: one for evidence that stands in favor of your automatic negative thought and one for evidence that discredits it. Here’s an example.

Situation: You were laid off from work.

ANT: “I’m never going to find work and will end up living on the street.”

Credible evidence that backs up my thought:

• I’m currently unemployed.
• It has been difficult to find work in the past.
• I’ve had a few applications turned down.

Credible evidence against my thought:

• I’ve always found a job in the past.
• I’ve never gotten to the point of not being able to pay my rent/mortgage.
• I have skills and experience that some employers are looking for.

Continue doing this until both lists are exhaustive, then take on the mind of a jury member. What would your verdict be about whether the ANT is true or false?

4. Seek Outside Opinions

Sometimes, we are too close to a situation to be able to interpret it in a different light. Try sharing your ANTs with someone you trust who can help you break through the parts that simply aren’t true. Ask them to be objective about your negative thoughts if you’re struggling to discredit them on your own.

5. Get Professional Help When Needed

Therapy wouldn’t exist if everyone could overcome their negative thoughts on their own. 

If you’re experiencing persistent negative thoughts that are affecting your mood and goals, seek the guidance of a trained professional. Therapists are trained in automatic negative thoughts CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), which can help change the way you think and react.

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