What is a Daily Thought Record?

When you start seeing a cognitive therapist, one of the first things they will ask you to do is start writing down your 'automatic thoughts' (the ones that run through your head all day like a constant commentary on everything you see, say and do) either every day, or whenever you experience a negative mood. Why? Because the core concept in cognitive therapy is that our thoughts affect our feelings and behaviour. So if you are depressed, say, you are likely to be thinking things like, 'I'm just a bad person – there's something deeply wrong with me,' or 'I always screw everything up – my life is a mess.' Although it's true that this type of thinking increases partly as a result of being down, if you start keeping a record of your negative thoughts you will see a direct link between them and a dip in your mood.

I think this is incredibly empowering – because it means that conditions like chronic stress, anxiety or depression don't 'happen to' you. They are caused by negative, self-critical, distorted thoughts and beliefs which can be changed (take a look at these 10 forms of distorted thinking to see if any are familiar). I'm not saying this is easy – far from it. Changing negative patterns of thinking and deeply-held beliefs that have been in place for decades takes time, patience and persistent hard work. But it can be done.

The same goes for unpleasant or self-defeating ways of thinking and feeling, like destructive anger, jealousy, chronic worrying, crippling shyness, public-speaking anxiety... with a little determination, they can all be significantly decreased with cognitive therapy. The first step is to use a Daily Thought Record – I use a specific format I've adapted for my clients, but you can download them for free at the excellent Psychology Tools website.

To get started, I suggest working with a cognitive therapist or reading a CBT workbook like Mind Over Mood, by Greenberger & Padesky. But once you've got the hang of it this is a simple, powerful tool you can use yourself to tackle negative thinking and boost your mood. I recommend 15 minutes a day if you want to feel better quickly – why not start today?

Best wishes,

Dan

Tags: Anger, Anxiety, CBT, Cognitive Therapy, Depression, Negative thoughts