JayDee
The difference between humans and all other animals is the ability to think. so we don't need an inherited source of knowledge as do animals that stay with their parents for a very short time. Because we can think and because we have little inherited intelligence we are what we experience. The basis for core beliefs. With nothing but what we experience we build them. Experience is all the senses and every thing we are taught. The more something is repeated the stronger of a core belief it makes. If we have no reference to challenge a core belief it becomes true. Even if it isn't.
As we age we gather more information and now have a reference to use to challenge core beliefs. Things we believed true sometimes prove wrong. This shock is mental trauma. A common basis for anxiety disorders, all of a sudden it seems our world falls apart. Can we believe anything we see. Is anything we learned true. And thus begins the negative spiral. Challenging a believed negative is positive. challenging an unknown and getting no answer is a negative because it leaves us with an unknown that cycles around looking for an answer.
We have the ability to think. But what is thought? It is the sifting of information in memory for the most logical answer. Primary thought would be givens, like two and two make four. Associated would be like different kinds of an object. Car would be primary because we know what a car is. Associated would be different types and colours.
We don't need all the different types of cars to think car, or dog or cat, but they are there if we have seen them somewhere. So if some one says porche we can see it. Where is this going? Associated memory is more damaging because there is more of it. Every thought has any number of similar thoughts in memory. Sitting on the side unless we need them such as being more specific. This is true for negative thoughts. Changing a negative thought gets rid of all the associated thoughts with it unless they are connected to another also. Getting rid of blue cars does not get rid of the colour blue because it is associated with other blue things. Same with thoughts. Blue becomes primary and cars becomes associated even though you have discarded cars. So to get rid of blue you would have to discard everything blue. Well you can't because as soon as you saw a blue car it would be back in memory. But if you had no interest in cars it wouldn't matter if it was blue. Same goes for negative thoughts. If they mean nothing to you then it doesn't matter if they happen. The only way they can mean nothing is if a positive means more to you. So attitude plays a big part in how well you change thought patterns. If you like red cars more than blue cars when you think cars you will think red cars unless there is a reason to think blue. So you also need a reason to think positive rather than negative.
Well you have one don't you? If you didn't you could change nothing.
With core beliefs there are core thoughts that are associated with them. When you challenge a core belief and change it you also change anything associated with it that is not associated with anything else unless it is very similar to the core belief you changed. In which case it changes too. Core beliefs that are close such as ugly and stupid will change with each other This is interesting because it leaves you with a temporary feeling of a blank spot till the new core is established. It is a very strange feeling. Almost a sadness at the loss of something familiar. A sadness that you have wasted so much time with something wrong. It is too easy to go back. Don't, what is past is past, enjoy the present.
The thing with CBT is that once you establish a positive pattern it becomes automatic just as a negative one used to.
And thus ends the panic attacks unless you give them a reason to exist. And this can happen and does as set backs but by this time they should be controllable and of little consequence. They are for me. There will always be triggers but by this time they usually are only concerns not worries. There is a big difference. Concern is having an answer worry is cycling because you don't have an answer. Make a decision and stick to it and worry disappears.
Davit.
Ps I got logged out and had to go find this post again :-) .
