POSITIVELY PSYCHOLOGY SCIENCE
Do you find yourself catastrophising? Do you jump to conclusions, imagining others’ negative reaction to what you’ve said or done? Are you self-critical or blame yourself for things, even if you weren’t entirely responsible for it? Do you overlook the positives, and find it easier to dwell on the negatives? Do your thoughts stem from your how you feel? Do you use language that contains should, ought to, must and have to, a lot? If so, your thoughts are being distorted negatively which means you have a tendency to read and filter situations that way. CBT which stands for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is really useful in menopause because it helps us develop a calmer and more balanced view of what’s happening and over time, can enable us to see the brighter side to life. CBT is a tool to develop & practice in perimenopause, as it helps us deal with various symptoms such as anxiety, low mood, hot flushes and night sweats
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY HACK
There are various ways for you to retrain your brain with CBT but for today, I’d like you to focus on the following:
Be aware of what you’re saying / thinking today & spot any of the above distortions
Make a note of these on your phone or in a journal
Play devil’s advocate and find evidence for why these are false thoughts: - is this thought really accurate?
- what would a close friend/family member say to me?
- what would I say to them that’s supportive if they were in this situation?
- how could I twist this to sound more positive?
For example, “I’ve got so much to do tomorrow. I’m never going to get it all done,” can be reframed as “I will prioritise tomorrow on what needs to be done and whatever I achieve in these exceptional times is a win!”
Liked this tip? Sign up for the four-week online HALO course w/c April 20th. More details – www.overthebloodymoon.com or get in touch to: hello@overthebloodymoon.com