A.N.T.’s

A.N.T.’sA.N.T.’sAutomatic negative thoughtsAutomatic negative thoughts

What Do You See?

Is the glass half empty or half full?

PerceptionHow you see a situation• There is no right or wrong to

perception

Thoughts

Emotions

Actions

You Are Moving• Thought: I’ll never make friends• Emotion: Sad, Angry• Action: You don’t act or look

friendly• Result: You don’t make friends

You are Moving• Thought: I can make friends with

time• Emotion: Happy, encouraged• Action: Act friendly• Result: Make friends

What you think about, you bring about

Where do our thoughts come from?

• Our brain is like a computer. It is always on. At night, our brain processes and stores all the things we heard or experienced during the day. Even negative experiences are stored in our brain. No one knows exactly where they are stored, but for today’s lesson we will call it our mind dump.

Just like bad odors sometimes drift up from a garbage dump and we become aware of the smell, sometimes negative thoughts drift into our conscious mind and we become aware of them

Because these thoughts seem to come from nowhere some psychiatrists call them Automatic Negative Thoughts

Or A.N.T.S

• These thoughts are usually inaccurate• At first glance they may seem believable• When we think about them we give them

power and they seem real• A few ants won’t ruin your picnic, but a

swarm could• The same is true of negative thoughts, if

you don’t learn to get rid of them they could ruin your day or your happiness in life

All or Nothing Thinking• See things as black and white• Sometimes called Either/Or thinking• You hold yourself to the impossible

standard of perfection• If I score below 90% I am a failure• If I’m not the best , I’m a flop.• I didn’t feel like sharing I’m selfish

Labeling

• Attach a negative label to yourself or others instead of describing your error.

• Humans are to complex for simple labels• I did poorly on the test, I am dumb. Instead of I did poorly on the test

because I forgot to study.• I am boring

Jumping to Conclusions• You see things negatively when

there are no facts to support your conclusion.

• I didn’t get invited to the party, they must not like me.

• Suzie didn’t say “Hi” to me in the hall, she must be mad at me.

Personalization• You see yourself as more involved

in negative events than you really are.

• Every time I watch the jazz they lose.

• It is my fault my parents are getting divorced.

Blaming• Blame someone else for the

problems you have so you don’t have to accept responsibility

• I wouldn’t have been in an accident if you hadn’t distracted me.

• I got a bad grade because the teacher doesn’t like me.

Magnification• Exaggerate the importance of your

problems.• minimize or shrink the importance

of your good qualities.• Failed a test, I am going to fail the

class.• I got an A, it was luck.

Fortune Telling• Predicting the worst possible

outcome in a situation.• I’m going to forget my lines when

I’m on stage.

Shoulds• Use of “I should”.• Not living up to your/others expectations.• We are attempting to motivate our self,

but it has the opposite effect.• I shouldn’t have made so many

mistakes, I guess I am no good at piano.• I should have known the answer on the

test.

Focus on Your Dents• Seeing only the bad in a situation• Only seeing your faults• I only made the Junior Varsity team,

I’m not a good football player.• You get many compliments on a

speech, but you only hear the one negative comment.

Always Thinking• See one negative event as never ending.• Deciding that negative experiences

describe your life completely• The words ALWAYS or NEVER are often

used.• I always mess up the play.• I’ll never make friends.

Making Feelings Facts• Taking one’s feelings as proof of

the way things really are• I feel inferior, I must be a loser.• I feel ashamed and bad, I must be

bad.• I’m terrified to fly, airplanes must

be dangerous.