Overcoming Thoughts

In this activity, you will learn skills to overcome a thought you struggle with. With practice, you can integrate these skills into your life, helping you gain greater control over your thoughts and actions.

What thought are you struggling with right now?

Work on other common thoughts. Click on the thought you’d like to work on below to start.

1. Some thoughts come to our mind so quickly that it seems like they must be true. We often accept these thoughts without considering other ways of thinking.
  Let’s rework the thought you struggle with. What is a healthier version of your thought above? This might be a different way of viewing the situation or a more compassionate statement to tell yourself.
2. Looking at evidence for your reworked thought reinforces that thought. It encourages a more self-compassionate way of thinking.
  What evidence in your life supports your reworked thought above?
3. Sometimes reworked thoughts don’t seem believable. This may be because there are core automatic beliefs driving your initial negative thought. These core beliefs can influence the way we see ourselves, other people, and the world.
  What core belief is driving your initial thought above? (If you are struggling to identify it, try asking yourself, “If this were true, what would it mean about me? Why does this matter to me? What would happen if this were true? What would happen next?”)
4. Like reworking thoughts, we can rework core beliefs by identifying healthier beliefs. A healthier belief might be a different way of viewing the world or yourself, especially a more self-compassionate statement to tell yourself.
  Rework the core belief. What is a healthier version of your core belief?
5. One way to reinforce a healthier belief is to find evidence that supports the healthier belief rather than the core belief.
  What evidence in your life supports this healthier core belief?
6. Being hurt sucks. Part of healing is letting go and working towards believing your new healthier thoughts.
  Why is it important for you to let go of this thought? OR What would letting go of this thought let you do?
7. Recognizing biased thoughts, reworking them, and reinforcing these healthier thoughts is a skill. With practice, this skill can become more intuitive and eventually become a habit.
  This practice can help you feel more hopeful, confident and in control of your situation.
  Pretend you’re talking to a friend. What would you say to encourage them to recognize and rework thoughts like you do above?
8. What good would come from reflecting on your thought and reworking it like you did above?
1. What you do influences how you feel and think. If you change what you do, you can change how you feel and what you think.
  What could you do to make you feel better or think differently than the thought above?
2. When we do things despite having thoughts we struggle with, we can better reach our goals.
  What success might come from doing the thing above?
3. When you do new things, it is helpful to identify obstacles you might face.
  What is one obstacle you may encounter if you do the thing above?
4. Now that you’ve identified the obstacle, imagine how you could respond to it in a way that allows you to continue moving forward.
  How will you deal with that obstacle you identified to do the thing above?
5. Just like packing a bag for a vacation, sometimes you need to take steps to prepare to do something.
  What would be the first step of doing the thing above?
6. Sometimes we need support or encouragement to get something done – like a workout buddy or a to-do list to check something off.
  What would you need to help you do the thing above?
7. Recognizing biased thoughts and doing something despite them is a useful skill that can make us think and feel better.
  Pretend you’re talking to a friend. What would you say to encourage them to do things despite thoughts, like you did above.
8. What good would come from reflecting on your thought and reflecting on doing something to think and feel better like you did above?

What Others Are Saying

I think about something unreal not understandable horrible All my thoughts are always confused
"I think about something unreal not understandable horrible All my thoughts are always confused"
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Why am I so excessive and never know when to stop?
"Why am I so excessive and never know when to stop?"
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divorce kids mental health the future
"divorce kids mental health the future"
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doubts on my relationship
"doubts on my relationship"
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Being alone
"Being alone"
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time management
"time management"
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workload
"workload"
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I feel like life will never be the same after overcoming drugs, I was so depressed on them but now I don’t know what to do now that I’m clean. Even drugs won’t help anymore when I’m depressed
"I feel like life will never be the same after overcoming drugs, I was so depressed on them but now I don’t know what to do now that I’m clean. Even drugs won’t help anymore when I’m depressed"
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Overwhelming upcoming obligations
"Overwhelming upcoming obligations"
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Not ever being good enough
"Not ever being good enough"
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Relationship
"Relationship"
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Love
"Love"
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stress, insecurity, loneliness
"stress, insecurity, loneliness"
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not feeling real
"not feeling real"
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Fear of giving into a thought
"Fear of giving into a thought"
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Fear of anxiety/negativity around loved one
"Fear of anxiety/negativity around loved one"
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Someone I cared about so much cut me off
"Someone I cared about so much cut me off"
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Driving anxiety
"Driving anxiety"
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Relationship
"Relationship"
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I should be doing more work for my husband and I
"I should be doing more work for my husband and I"
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Money
"Money"
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Fear of having a catastrophic health event or accident
"Fear of having a catastrophic health event or accident"
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I'm overwhelmed
"I'm overwhelmed"
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I'm not doing enough
"I'm not doing enough"
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bullying,family,future and the things that happens in my country and lot of more
"bullying,family,future and the things that happens in my country and lot of more"
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Am I good to people. Am I doing the right thing, what does my future hold
"Am I good to people. Am I doing the right thing, what does my future hold"
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obsessive thoughts
"obsessive thoughts"
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Self hatred
"Self hatred"
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Why am I sad more often than happy?
"Why am I sad more often than happy?"
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This girl and her changing her online presence to something she’s not
"This girl and her changing her online presence to something she’s not"
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Vows
"Vows"
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What is going to happen if the bank doesn’t reverse the charge and I have another month that’s not just insanely hard but fucking impossible.
"What is going to happen if the bank doesn’t reverse the charge and I have another month that’s not just insanely hard but fucking impossible."
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I'm a failure
"I'm a failure"
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I’ll never be able to do what I want to in life
"I’ll never be able to do what I want to in life"
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My future is going to be lonely and sad
"My future is going to be lonely and sad"
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Overthinking; worrying about stuff I’m not in control of
"Overthinking; worrying about stuff I’m not in control of"
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I hate myself
"I hate myself"
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Losing my love of my life
"Losing my love of my life"
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Guilt
"Guilt"
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i am mentally scattered
"i am mentally scattered"
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Not in a right place with people and family, having bad thoughts, acting up more, always being down/ not modivated/ feeling like i’m not enough or worth being here.
"Not in a right place with people and family, having bad thoughts, acting up more, always being down/ not modivated/ feeling like i’m not enough or worth being here."
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I’m a fraud
"I’m a fraud"
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Weight
"Weight"
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I'm scared
"I'm scared"
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What if I get diagnosed with depression or anxiety and need to take medication
"What if I get diagnosed with depression or anxiety and need to take medication"
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Pitty
"Pitty"
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I'm putting my struggles and stress on my loved ones and stressing them out in the end
"I'm putting my struggles and stress on my loved ones and stressing them out in the end"
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intrusive thoughts
"intrusive thoughts"
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I feel alone and misunderstood. I feel like I'm a miserable person. I am scared I will never acheive what I want in life.
"I feel alone and misunderstood. I feel like I'm a miserable person. I am scared I will never acheive what I want in life."
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Overcoming Thoughts

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What Others Are Saying