Automatic Thoughts

The ideas that pop into your mind during various situations are called automatic thoughts. Awareness of your automatic thoughts can help you change negative shifts in your feelings, actions, and even in your physiology. At first, it may be difficult to identify your negative automatic thoughts—these thoughts happen so quickly you may not even realize you’ve had them. With practice, however, you can increase awareness of your automatic thoughts, opening up opportunities to challenge and replace negative thinking in your life. CBT focuses on teaching you to identify and challenge negative automatic thoughts, and to replace them with more functional ways of thinking.