Mental Health Blog
Mental Health vs. Mental Illness
People often talk about mental health with a negative connotation when in fact, we all have mental health! mental health is something we all have that is important and should be take care of in order to maintain a general state of well-being. We can have mental health problems which are small inconsistencies in our mental health that can cause us short term distress. People can seek out mental health services for mental health problems but these are not the same as mental illnesses. Mental illness is something the disrupts your daily functioning and interrupts how an individual may feel, think, communicate and behave. Mental illness is real and serious and is nothing anyone should be ashamed of or feel as though they would be judged for receiving mental health services.
Mental illness and mental health problems may be different but both can be extremely distressing and difficult to manage on your own. Seeking mental health services for either of these issues is fair and suggested if you are struggeling. Therapy can be a way to maintain your mental health, help you get through a mental health problem or help you manage a mental illness.
No matter where you are in your mental health journey, asking for help is okay.
-Halle Cockx, Registered Provisional Psychologist
Challenging Negative Thoughts
Unfortunately, negative thoughts are a part of most of our lives, but how do we deal with them? And how do we help our children deal with them?
Challenging negative thoughts is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy strategy involving Socratic questioning and logic to transform negative thoughts into more positive ones.
How to challenge negative thoughts:
Name the thought! Write it down, say it out loud, and make sure you are aware of what the thought is.
Name how this thought makes you feel, not only emotionally but also physically. Write these feelings down too.
Write a for/against list. On one side, write down all the evidence you can think of that proves this thought is true. On the other side, write down all the evidence you can think of that proves this thought is NOT true. Compare the lists. Sometimes this step can be enough if the not true list is obviously longer than the for list!
Question your thought. Sometimes the for list turns out longer than the against list. In this situation, or if you just want to question the thought further, you can ask some critical questions that will help challenge the thought:
"Is this thought helpful or hurtful?"
Does the thought make you feel good?
"If someone else thought this, what would I tell them?"
"What would your parent/friend think of this thought?"
Come up with a list of helpful statements to say to yourself when a negative thought pops up.
I can't change what has already happened
I can accept things the way they are
This feels bad, but that is normal, and it will pass
I have handled similar problems before; I can again
Thoughts are happening in my brain; They are not the truth
I can get through this
This is difficult, but it is temporary
I can accept myself the way I am
It's okay to feel this way.
Restate the thought in a more positive way. You do not need to completely switch to the most positive thought because, often, that is unrealistic. For example, "My parents are going to get divorced." don't change to "My parents will never get divorced." Instead, change to something like "My parents fight sometimes, but they work hard to work it out" or "My parents love each other and do not intend to get divorced."
*This strategy works best when it is written down on paper.
*Remember that often it is very difficult to practice this strategy when in a heightened state. So try and use calming strategies to regulate before attempting to challenge the thoughts.
-Halle Cockx, Registered Provisional Psychologist