Our thoughts greatly condition our mental health, the practice of certain thought habits and resistance to change give rise to our own reality, there is a reality outside of us and we do not interact with it, the only reality with which we actually live is a simulation created by our brain through our own thoughts, which can be closer or less to external reality.
In theory, the less our thoughts influence, the closer we get to precision. The problem arises when we have been educated with generalizations, prejudices and dichotomies that distance us from reality. Thinking is like breathing, you do it without realizing it, but you can’t believe everything you think. It is estimated that only about 20% of our thoughts come true.
- Human beings have thoughts that do not correspond to the reality of the moment or situation; these thoughts are called distorted or irrational thoughts.
- They are ideas that come to mind and prevent us from seeing the exact reality of things; often lead us to error and this greatly and directly influences our own emotional state.
The interpretations of reality are those that lead us to be emotionally stable or unstable people, stead than reality itself, what we think of ourselves and our experience is what actually generates anxiety and/or depression problems, so common in the first world, and not the situation. Two people, faced with the same situation, can live it and understand it differently, showing that reality is finally created by our thoughts.
Reality is what, when people stop believing in it, doesn’t go away
Psychology bases some of its therapies on replacing irrational thoughts with others better suited to real events; learning to turn irrational thoughts into rational thoughts is the main axis of thought appropriate to reality; people who can modify these thoughts can have a lot of control over their emotions and be able to make more appropriate decisions.
One of the most commonly used techniques in clinical care to change inappropriate thoughts is debate, where the patient learns to change their beliefs through questions asked by rational parameters, until it is able to generate much more adaptive alternative thinking. in the end, that the patient is able to replace or cut their thoughts independently.
While circumstances are complex, such as those that may arise around a dismissal or a sentimental relationship that ends, these situations will not improve, no long as we think about them. In many difficult situations, the field of action is much more a matter of intervention on one’s own thoughts than on reality itself.
“Everyone may have knowledge, but the art of thinking is nature’s rarest gift. “
Events do not cause emotional and behavioral problems, but are caused by beliefs found in interpretations of these problems. One of the fundamental aspects to emphasize is the difference between rational and irrational beliefs.
To think rationally is to think in relative terms, to express yourself in terms of desires and tastes (I would like, would you prefer, would you like?). When people think healthily, even when they don’t get what they want, the negative feelings caused by these situations don’t prevent new goals or goals from being reached.
On the contrary, dogmatic and absolutist thinking leads us to express ourselves in terms of obligations, needs or requirements (I must, I need, I am obliged), not to do so generates inappropriate negative emotions (depression, guilt, anger). , anxiety, fear) that interfere with the achievement of goals and generate behavioral changes such as isolation, avoidance or flight and abuse of toxic substances.
It all depends on how we see things, not what they really are like
Without a change of habits, there is no change in life.