Think about what you Think
By: Jincy (June 7th, 2008)
As I sit back and think about the patients and all that they spoke about during the session, I wonder what made them think the way they did. These patients didn’t have evidence to form basis for their thought.
Did they perceive things the way they wanted to? Yes to some extent.
Are there possibilities that they are learnt from the parenting styles? Certainly. If the parenting style is authoritarian i.e. parents exercise excessive control on children, they may be highly critical of themselves and may create self statements like “I can’t do it on my own, I am so inadequate”. If the parenting style is excessively permissive, self statements like “I have no one to help me; I am all alone” can be made.
Well, social, environmental and cultural factors do make a person more vulnerable to depression. I’m sure the thought lives of such people have a myriad of negative thoughts stored up that they have drawn from the events in their life through processes like
- Overgeneralization: e.g. when the person is told he is not good at singing; he would reframe the statement and say to himself that he is good for nothing.
- All or none reasoning: which is tendency to think in extremes e.g. like someone might discount a less than perfect performance by saying, “If I can’t do it 100% right, there’s no point in doing it at all.”
- Selective abstraction: tendency to focus on one negative detail of a situation while ignoring other elements.
Are there biological factors causing these thoughts? Yes again, Genes have a major role to play according to science. Research studies conducted on families and twins have made a strong case for a moderate genetic contribution to depression, though the specific genes that may be responsible for the transmission of depression have not been identified. Similarly hormonal, neuro-physiological factors also are responsible for depressed thought patterns.
We looked at some of the reasons. Basically people with depression have a negative thought about self, experiences, surrounding and future. These thoughts overpower them so much that it makes them sleep less, eat less, drains all their energy and makes them feel hopeless and worthless and above all makes them rule out the very first law of life which is self preservation, by inducing suicidal propensity. A life turned upside down because of THOUGHTS!
Is there a way out of this cycle of negative thoughts?
IF THERE IS A WAY IN THERE IS A WAY OUT!
Let me share some quotes I found in the Bible:
Titus 1:15 to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact both their minds and conscience are corrupted.
‘As a man thinks in his heart so is he’ and the way he perceives himself will be the way he perceives others and others perceive him.
Exodus 34:7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
Where science gives a biological explanations Bible gives a spiritual insight according to which the personal bondages of our ancestors may turn to generational bondages and may be passed on from one generation to another. Thought patterns, behavior and various lifestyles can be a part of this bondage like negative thinking, mood fluctuation, lying, alcoholism, suicidal tendency, drug dependency etc.
Phil 4:8 whatever is true, noble, pure, right, lovely, admirable- if anything is excellent and praiseworthy- think about such things.
The author knows the power of thoughts and so encourages all the people to think about the good things that are true, excellent and praiseworthy about themselves and others.
There are times it’s hard to think on the good things as the negative thought may be magnified before your eyes. But that’s the time when we need to do some rational thinking to eliminate the irrational thoughts.
What is that we are thinking about ourselves day in and day out?? Are we spending sometime to check on our thoughts?? What are the thoughts in our mind as we get up in the morning and when we go to sleep at night? What is it that we are saying to ourselves??
Firstly, we need to bring a change in our self statements.
Secondly, we need to find out if there is a generational cause behind our thought pattern(s).
Third and the most important are we able to focus on the good things?
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
There is a battle in the mind and if we can win that battle, the victory shall be ours for sure.
Tags: , depression, Perception, Selective abstraction
June 7th, 2008 at 9:37 am
[…] Think about what you Think Think about what you Think By: Jincy (June 7th, 2008) “Dr. I am mad, I don’t have a brain”, were the first sentence I heard during my internship period in a clinical psychologist’s clinic. Next patient softly utters, “Nobody loves me.” Sitting in the room, I realize how many irrational thoughts encompass us: God is angry with me so I am depressed, or I am worthless or I am a failure, I don’t get anything right…. As I sit back and think about the patients and all that they spoke about during […]