Is this sound advice for a therapy patient??

Question

Just came across this in a book (paraphrased):

"One way to correct "distorted thoughts" is to find more than one explanation. For example, if you think someone is mad at you, consider other possibilities, such as maybe they had a rough day at work or are sick. Then estimate the likelihood of each possibility. This will give you a more realistic perspective and correct overly negative or distorted thinking."

Isn't the above a form of reassurance seeking.....or 'false positives'? What good does it really do to keep chanting to yourself that things may not be as bad as they seem? Isn't it a form of useless reassurance seeking? Isn't someone with an anxiety disorder better off NOT trying to seek reassurance (as in the above) and instead accept the possibility that the bad thing may really be true (then cope with those feelings rather than run from them)? Or is there something i am missing?

-dxed with ocd (obsessive compulsive disorder)

Answer 1

i know what you're saying but i think what you may be missing is an attempt to keep thoughts or self talk, balanced. Meaning, think through some other possibilities apart from the bad things, weigh up these possibilities and try to find some conclusion other than always jumping straight to the worse possible scenario.

i have lived with anxiety disorder for many years and find relief in trying to maintain structure and calmness in my life, and being civilly assertive in what i will and will not let affect my life, good luck

Answer 2

Note it says to deal with "distorted thoughts," not to deal with reality!    People with distorted thoughts are not thinking clearly in most cases and are often assuming things.  For example:  if someone walks past me in the hall and doesn't say "hello" back to me when I speak I can assume they are mad at me or I can assume they are having a rough day or are sick or they didn't hear me.  Any of the four possibilities are valid until I actually ask the person and find out the actual answer, so why assume the negative at all times?  Now, if I did something to anger someone and I say hello and they don't answer, then maybe it would be appropriate to assume they are angry, but otherwise, it is no more accurate an assumption than either of the other three.

Hope that makes some sense.

Answer 3

Though I'm not saying it's okay to ignore the reality of a situation, or create false positives, it can be helpful for stressed or unstable people to imagine scenarios like that.  To always have to face the truth can overwhelm a person, and that leads to bad things.

Sometimes, creating these ideas in your mind to distract you from the reality of a situation can decrease that overwhelming pressure and calm your nerves.

I wouldn't, of course, recommend doing this all the time - because some truths need to be faced no matter what - but in small situations like, as you pointed out, someone being upset at you, it's safer to think of these things than constantly worry over them being upset at you.

That's just what I think. :D