Whenever we feel very upset, depressed, guilty or angry, we should stop what we're doing and try to become aware of what we are thinking, or what images are going through our minds. If we find ourselves saying 'I felt that. . .' or 'I thought that. . .', we are probably about to express a thought and not a feeling. For example, 'I felt that he had no right to say that to me' is a thought, not a feeling.
We can all identify some of the familiar put-downs we use against ourselves, or the negative thoughts we have about ourselves, for example:
'I'm hopeless at . . .'
'Everyone is smarter than me.'
'I'll never get over what he said to me.
The aim is to gather more accurate information about our thoughts so that we can pinpoint and counteract distortions.
Best Regards
Teena