Step 4: Replacing Negative Thoughts

Using evidence to develop more realistic thoughts

Being my own thought detective helps me feel more in control of my mind, which I find really empowering.”  James, age 42

The last step of Cognitive Restructuring is to challenge the reality of our negative thoughts and replace them with new and more balanced thoughts. 

There are different techniques that can be used to go about gathering and weighing evidence for and against negative thinking patterns. We will cover two techniques:

  • Putting Thoughts on Trial
  • Socratic Questioning

Trying either of these strategies can help us evaluate our thoughts more objectively and come up with more realistic and adaptive perspectives.  

Putting Thoughts on Trial 

This technique involves gathering evidence for and against the accuracy of our thoughts, much like in a court case. By gathering evidence both for and against the thought, we are able to assess whether the thought is realistic or helpful. This can help expose cognitive distortions that underlie depression. 

As in a court case, we gather evidence that backs up the thought (evidence for) and evidence that disproves the thought (evidence against). Like in a court of law, stick to the facts and not our own opinions or feelings.

Putting thoughts on trial involves the following:

  1. Arguments For
    • Include evidence for why a negative thought is true, as if you were a defence attorney. Remember to stick to verifiable facts (interpretations, guesses, and opinions aren’t allowed).
  2. Arguments Against
    • Next, make an argument against the negative thought as if you were a prosecutor. Just like in the previous step, stick to the facts, while excluding any opinions.
  3. The Verdict
    • Finally, act as the judge. Review the evidence and deliver a verdict. The verdict should come in the form of a rational thought.
For example: Putting Thoughts on Trial
The Thought

No one wants to hang out with me.

The Defence (argument in support of the thought)
The Prosecution (argument against the thought)
  • My friends have done stuff without me before.
  • I didn’t reach out to my friends until late in the afternoon, so it was pretty last minute.
  • I was with these friends on Saturday night and we all had a great time together.
The Verdict
  • I know my friends have busy lives, and if I give them enough heads-up (which I didn’t do on this occasion), they are usually keen to get together.
  • Everyone spends time alone now and then, so next time I’ll use the opportunity to catch up on other things I need or want to do.

Socratic Questioning

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who emphasized the importance of questioning as a way to explore complex ideas and uncover assumptions. This philosophy has been adopted as a way to challenge cognitive distortions.

Once a cognitive distortion has been identified, we assess it by asking a series of questions. Take some time to reflect on the answers for each question, as the value of Socratic questioning comes from putting some thought behind each answer.

Here are some examples of Socratic questions to ask yourself regarding negative thoughts:

  • Am I basing my thoughts on facts or on feelings?
  • What is the evidence for this thought? Could I be misinterpreting the evidence?
  • Am I viewing this situation as black and white, when it’s really more complicated?
  • Am I having this thought out of habit, or do facts support it?
  • What would I tell a friend if they had this thought? 
  • If I was not feeling low or anxious would I see the situation differently? 

Review Evidence

Finally, think about the evidence for and against your negative thoughts, coming up with a more balanced and realistic interpretation of the situation.

It may be helpful to get feedback from a friend or a therapist to help come up with new more realistic thoughts. 

WORKBENCH EXERCISE 

To continue with our example from Steps 1, 2 and 3, we now record the evidence for and against our automatic negative thought, and a more realistic and adaptive thought to replace it using our Worksheet, your notes, or the form below. (Print/save responses to your device at each step. Our website does not record personal information you enter here.)

Situation

This afternoon, I texted three friends to see if they wanted to get together after work. Everyone’s busy, so I’m spending an evening alone with no plans.

Thoughts

No one wants to hang out with me. 

I’m not interesting enough for people to care about me.

Feelings

Sad, lonely, angry

Behaviors

Stayed home all evening and did nothing. 

Just sat around ruminating about not being good enough and all the ways I’ve screwed up in the past.

Alternate Thoughts

Evidence for: 

  • My friends have done stuff without me before.

Evidence against:

  • I didn’t reach out to my friends until late in the afternoon, so it was pretty last minute.
  • I was with these friends on Saturday night and we all had a great time together.
  • I know my friends care about me. For example, they arranged a nice get-together last month for my birthday.

Alternate thoughts:  

  • I know my friends have busy lives, and if I give them enough heads-up (which I didn’t do on this occasion), they are usually keen to get together. 
  • Everyone spends time alone now and then, so next time I’ll use the opportunity to catch up on other things I need or want to do.

Cognitive Restructuring Template

Situation
Thoughts
Feelings
Behaviors
Actions
Alternate Thoughts

For your own example, you can add “Alternate Thoughts” What is the evidence that it could be true? What about evidence against it? What might be an alternate thought that is more appropriate and helpful?


Once you’ve written out your Alternate Thoughts in your notes or above, let’s move on to the Wrap Up.