How to Change Your Self Defeating Beliefs

Cognitive Restructuring

Dr. Tracey Marks explains how to use cognitive restructuring, a cognitive behavioral therapy technique, to identify and challenge self-defeating thoughts. A thought record can make automatic thoughts more visible. Working through the process with a therapist may be more helpful than doing it alone.

Stage 1: Notice and Record an Automatic Thought

When you feel low, angry, or notice a change in your emotions, pause and ask: “What was going through my mind just then?”

Record a few details:

• The date and time, where you were, who was there, what you were doing, and what happened just before the emotional shift
• Your emotions and their intensity, rated from 0–100%
• Any body sensations, such as a lump in your throat, head pain, or butterflies in your stomach
• The thought or image that came to mind, and how strongly you believe it, rated from 0–100%

Questions like “What was I saying to myself?” or “How did this situation seem to threaten me?” may help you identify the thought.

You don’t need to capture everything in the moment. Jot down a few details and fill in the rest later. With practice, self-observation can become more automatic.

Stage 2: Put the Thought “on Trial”

Choose a thought from your record. Turn a question into a statement, or translate an image into the belief it seems to express.

• Defense case: Write evidence that supports the thought, without censoring yourself.
• Prosecution case: Write evidence against it. Consider what you may have overlooked, whether the thought is always true, and what you would say to a friend who held the same belief.

Read both cases aloud, then act as the judge. Look for a fair, balanced summary of the situation and consider other possibilities.

Reflect on how the revised thought differs from the original. Identifying the cognitive distortion behind a thought may also help you notice and change recurring patterns.

Presenter/source: Dr. Tracey Marks, psychiatrist.