Once you’ve identified your negative core beliefs you can begin to challenge and change them. This means that you’ll be challenging the source of your depression. However, in order to challenge your negative core beliefs you need to identify and test out some new positive core beliefs.

Instead of focusing on the negative core beliefs you have about yourself, the world, other people and the future, we’re going to get you to focus on developing new and more positive core beliefs. In order to do that, we want you to think about how you’d like to be, how you’d like the world and other people to be, what you’d like the future to look like.

As the first step towards developing more positive core beliefs we’d like you to ask yourself these following questions.

Questions about Yourself

1. What would you like to be like?

2. What kind of person would you like to be?

3. How would you like to behave?

4. What would you like to believe about yourself?

5. How would you be acting differently if you believed that about yourself?

Sylvie, Bilingual Health Educator

• Set priorities for yourself. Organize your time so that you do the things that are most important to you first. Don’t get too hung up on the smaller, less important things.
• Recognize things that cause you the most stress. Afterward, look for ways to get around them. For example, if you find meeting with someone in person stressful, see if you can make a phone call instead.
• Don't try to do everything yourself. Ask your friends and family members to help with some of your responsibilities.
• Talk about your feelings with family and friends. Be sure you take time for social activities and exercise. You'll feel more relaxed, energized and not as stressed.

Sylvie, Bilingual Health Educator

Positive thinking can be a very powerful tool to use in everyday life. Those who use positive thinking are more likely to anticipate happiness, joy and a successful outcome to every situation. Some say that whatever the mind expects, it finds.

• One of the biggest problems is working on too many negative core assumptions at a time. Try to stick with one at a time.
• Remember, your negative core beliefs have been with you for a long time and it will take some time to change them. This is a long-term project.
• Keep your goals reasonable & reachable. If you think you’re “unlovable” today, you won’t become perfectly lovable next week. Instead decide what lovable means to you. Does being more lovable mean having more friends? Never being alone?

 What negative core belief will you tackle first?

Do you struggle with anxiety? Today we will be looking at sample exposure plans to help you overcome your fears.

If you fear riding in elevators…

* Go to a building and watch the elevators for an hour

* Go up or down 1 floor with a safe person for ½ hour

* Go up or down 2 floors with a safe person for an hour

* Go up or down 3 or more floors with a safe person for an hour

* Travel up or down 1 floor by yourself for 1 hour

* Travel up or down 2 floors by yourself for 1 hour

* Travel up or down 3 floors by yourself for 1 hour

* Gradually travel up or down more floors for 1 hour

* Travel in a different elevator in the same building

* Travel in a different elevator in a different building

* Ride in several different elevators in several different buildings for an hour