Cup of 'TEA' anyone?

[Margee]

My hope in sharing this would be to help any of my friends on this forum that have a hard time (like I do sometimes) with negative thinking.    Sometimes it seems as if introverts have a hard time dissecting their thoughts. Anyone who suffers from too many negative thoughts might try this method. (permission to print) Below the article, is the list of  'the Negative Rules' that can  keep us down in the dumps.

I've been trying it out for the last 2 weeks, and if you take the few minutes to do it  - it is making sense and I am changing my thoughts.

TEA is an acronym for Thought-Error-Analysis.

All it is really is a simple form. Take a piece of paper and draw 2 vertical lines down the center to make 3 columns.

1. First column, you put your negative thought on paper.
2. Second you'd put your  negative thinking error (catastrophic thinking etc..., from the list below)
3. Third, your counter thought - a more realistic thought ( From what I've read, you're supposed to do this for about a half hour a day (or more) everyday to make the new thoughts sink in.

The exercise involves jotting down one's negative thought or idea, followed by what thought patterns or thinking fallacies that enter your mind. (a fallacy is a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning within and may result in emotional triggers)

  An example of a negative or illogical thought pattern (fallacy) is globalization (forming an opinion about something in general, based on one isolated incident), or ignoring the positive (downplaying the good and exaggerating the bad).

A thought can have many fallacies, and all that apply should be listed. Following this, one looks at the thought again and begins to use logic to deconstruct it to its basic core, which will be more realistic.


For example:

THOUGHT: freakin' mess! Why would I keep the plant there? I'm dumb. I just cleaned the carpet. I hate cats. what a waste of time. I just spent all day working and now I'm stuck cleaning this mess up and it's going to take all day!
NEGATIVE RULES:(listed below) Naming, blowing things out of proportion, emotional blocking.
LOGIC: (realistic thinking) I shouldn?t have placed the plant I knew my cat liked, at the edge of a table. It was bound to happen. I?ll vacuum it, no biggie. It won?t take more than a few minutes to clean up and it won?t happen again.

THEORY
A lot of our thoughts, worries and ideas are based on exaggeration, misconception and just plain false info. We make judgments and decisions based on these erroneous ideas, and most of our anxiety is unfounded, baseless. If we can analyze this information logically, from an outside point of view, then we can change our thinking habits by replacing them with positive thoughts based on logic.

The TEA Form is a basic exercise designed to do just that. It is a way of countering your spontaneous thoughts by looking at them from a distance to evaluate their basis and locate fallacies.The beauty of the TEA form lies in its simplicity. It can be done anywhere, anytime.

 NEGATIVE THINKING RULES - This is the thinking that keeps me 'stuck' in misery!

Jump to conclusions: Overestimating the likelihood and severity of a negative event. Your thought is unrealistic and much worse than what ends up happening (sometimes nothing even happens).

Blowing things out of proportion: Taking a small problem (that when examined logically, isn't the end of the world) and exaggerating it or making it catastrophic. If I fail this test. My life is over.

Extreme thinking: Seeing things as either good or bad; No middle ground or compromise. Common with perfectionism. Example: I am late for class. No point in going now.

Globalising: Using one instance of an event as proof or evidence for a general, universal thought. ?I got that one wrong. I'm stupid.' or 'Whoa, I almost fell. God, I'm so clumsy.

Emotional blocking: Giving your emotions more importance than facts or reality. Thoughts are not facts.   Example: You think, I don't feel like going to class, so you don't.

Reality filter: Your thought focuses on one small detail, with no regard for the big picture.

Ignoring the positive: A grim view; Emphasizing the negative, while de-emphasizing the positive.I got lucky, and 2nd place isn't even good. I should have been 1st. I suck.

Omnipotence error: Thinking you are responsible for events outside your control. This is sometimes hard to become aware of until you notice other people doing it. Sometimes 'poop' happens.

Counterproductive motivation: Using coercion on yourself or others; Doesn't work and almost always does harm in some way, even if the intentions are good. Examples: I NEED to learn this!or He needs to be more responsible.

Naming: Labeling yourself or others. This just increases stress and weakens your judgment, and the labels are wrong. It also serves no real purpose. Examples:
I'm retarded or that dummy can't drive!

hope this helps anyone who might need it!

The Whole Article: http://insightsynthesis.com/tag/tea-form-exercise/

Sincerely, Have a good day!    Margee

[Nannycat]

hi everyone!  I just read this article over and I have a problem with negative thinking and I want to improve this in my life. This is a wonderful place to be. There is so much information on how to improve your life as an introvert. I just wanted to say hi and thanks to all of you for all the great information. I am going to get a notebook and try this technique starting tomorrow.
Nannycat   

[Margee]

welcome nannycat! (love that name!!)
I am so glad you like this article - so did I! Negative thinking can be a real issue for an introvert because our minds can be very intense. (as you already mentioned)

I 'overthink' a lot of things and that list of 'negative rules' (as they call it) is ALWAYS at 'play' somewhere!
 
So I have been looking to see where I am jumping to conclusions, blowing things out of proportion, extreme thinking, globalising, emotional blocking, filtering reality, ignoring the positive, thinking I am responsible for events outside my control, using force on myself or others  and labeling myself or others.

 I read yesterday where one expert said that  one part of depression is a signal that 'something' is not quite right' in your life and until it is fixed  - you might remain depressed.  Negative thinking always leads me to being depressed.
So I am going to work on this as I want to be a happy, contented introvert!
Sincerely, Margee

[Scylla]

Wow, Margee! This is excellent and timely. Obsessive is me all over. It works well in the studio where tunnel-vision helps concentration, but doesn't translate into human relations! Thanks!   Scylla

[secretmoonglow]

Negative thinking is the right thought at the wrong time.  In early evolution there was an advantage to always think something like "I think there is a lion hiding over there".  So what if you are wrong 99 straight times.  The one time you are right means a lion does not eat you.  Other similar negative primitive thoughts helped mankind to survive and thrive.

Today the things we think can go wrong usually result in things going right, or neutral, or not as bad as thought.  Challenging the negative thoughts like Margee states--and there are other similar strategies--results in re-wiring our brains to think the right thought at the right time.

[Derek]

This is a great reminder to watch your thoughts. I can get easily back into negative thinking in a second and then stay there for awhile until I'm sick of myself. I really like the list of   'negative thinking rules' and I am going to copy and paste them somewhere on my computer and read them everyday for awhile and see if this dosen't help me from slipping into that auful thinking. Thanks for this post.    Derek