keep positive and challenge unhelpful thinking

Making changes to our lifestyle can be really difficult. We’ve often spent a long time building up bad habits or thinking and behaving in a way which is unhealthy for both our mind and body, so it is important to realise that making long-lasting changes will take time and effort in the first instance.

Psychologists have shown us how to make the link between our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Once we start to identify why we behave in a certain way, for example, eating in response to feeling anxious, we can start to change that chain of events into something more positive. Unhelpful thoughts need to be challenged in order to change the outcome! Unhelpful thoughts are often an important factor in whether a ‘slip-up’ or a ‘lapse’ becomes a fall, or a full-blown relapse (i.e. going back to old ways altogether). On the next page there are a number of points to get you thinking about what unhelpful thoughts might be, and how they can get in your way. Try turning your unhelpful thoughts into more helpful ways of looking at things. People are often surprised to find that if they practice helpful thoughts and actively challenge negative thinking it is possible to learn how to think differently about food, weight and physical activity. In time this can become a habitual way of thinking which will make it easier for you to stick to your plans.

Unhelpful Thinking Traps!

1. Over-generalising

You are struggling to stick to your healthy eating plan and think, “This always happens to me. Why do other people never have this problem?” This kind of thinking is defeatist. How about a more realistic appraisal such as “It’s a challenge”. Nearly everyone who tries to change their diet has had an experience like this. I will only make myself feel worse by fretting”.

2. Over-personalising

If a friend ignores you in the street, do you instantly ask yourself “I wonder how I’ve offended him” and not look for other possible explanations? There could be many reasons, so try not to personalise without any concrete evidence.

3. ‘All-or-nothing’ thinking

Do you think that, because you are not very good at something, you must therefore by absolutely hopeless at it? Remember that things are not usually all black or all white, so make sure you look for the shades of grey in the middle.

4. Jumping to conclusions without evidence

Someone comments on something you are eating and your automatic thought is “They’re thinking oh no here he goes again – on another diet”. If you find yourself jumping to conclusions like this, ask yourself “What is the evidence? What other possible explanations are there?”

5. Catastrophizing

Do you regret a mistake and then go over the top with remorse? If you miss a deadline, do you tell yourself: “My boss will think this is what I’m generally like. She’ll never think well of me again. I’ve blown it completely”. This isn’t a balanced way of thinking.

6. Disowning any positives

When someone admires your outfit, do you say to her “You always say such nice things” rather than “Thanks. It is nice, isn’t it? I really like it too”. Or when you get praise for a job well done, do you think that without the help you received, you would never have made it? Or do you say to yourself “Haven’t I done well? Good on me, I’ve managed it against all the odds”?

7. Saying you should or must do something when you could choose not to?

Do you habitually give yourself an ultimatum in the form of “I should”, “I must”, “Always” or “Everything”? If you do this a lot, then stop to question yourself. Why should you? Is it helpful and to whom? Things are not always so clear cut. Often it is a case of “It would be nice if I could”, or “I wonder whether this is possible”, and “Sometimes” and “Some things”.