Killing ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts)

Have you ever talked your way out of something that could have been good for you? Do you have a habit of assuming the worst all the time when the (seemingly) worst happens to you once? You might have a head full of ANTs.

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ANTs, in the therapy world, are automatic negative thoughts. These are the bad things that immediately come to mind when you are faced with a situation or event. We all get ANTs at one time or another. They come and go, and are largely fleeting. But just like the insect ants, some ANTs can be hard to get rid of.

Let's say you're at work. Your supervisor's secretary calls you over and says "the boss would like you to present a budget report at the next meeting in two weeks."

What's going through your mind? Maybe you have the thought "oh, I better be prepared." Perhaps you're thinking "I don't like meetings." Those might be considered normal thoughts.

But what if you're thinking "I'm going to faint at the meeting and he's going to fire me"? Maybe you're thinking "I'll say the wrong thing and my life in this place will be over" or "he's just trying to embarrass me because he knows I don't like public speaking."

If these thoughts can't escape your mind, keep you up at night, and interfere with your daily life, then those are ANTs that probably need to die. If you have that meeting and you still have your job yet you still can't sleep at night from those thoughts, then you definitely have to kill those ANTs!

The problem with ANTs is that they are largely irrational in nature. There's no real solid history or crystal ball that can ensure those negative things will happen. It's rational to think that jumping out of a plane with no parachute may cause death. It's irrational to think that every time a plane flies overhead it's going to crash on top of you.

So how do you get rid of ANTs? Therapists suggest that you take the ANT and examine it. You pull it apart, examine how you feel about it, and try to come up with something a little more rational. Little by little those ANTs could become APTs, or Automatic Positive Thoughts.

In the earlier example, is it possible that you'll get fired? Yes. But it's not probable and not likely, especially for giving a briefing. Is it possible you'll faint? Maybe a very slight chance, barring any serious medical conditions you may have. But you'll likely still have your job even if you do. Could he be trying to embarrass you? Probably not, because there's no point in wasting time at a meeting just to embarrass someone. IF that's the kind of boss you have, then you're working in the wrong place.

What would be the positives? Well, your boss is relying on you to give a briefing, so that shows some sort of confidence. You also have time to prepare for it. Even if you didn't and it was even shorter notice, that still shows confidence. And your boss, like most other workers, has probably given thousands of briefings before and already knows it isn't the most fun thing to do in the world. In fact, some statistics demonstrate that people have a bigger fear of public speaking than dying! A little fear or anxiety, in this case, is normal.

If you think ANTs are taking over your head, then consider seeing a therapist that specializes in cognitive therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. There are some places that specialize in ANT removal. They treat depression and anxiety disorders, which are some of the more pervasive ANT builders. Otherwise, practice talking yourself out of ANTs just as you talked yourself into them. Take a look at past events and see them from another perspective. If you're here to talk about the bad day you had yesterday, then it wasn't that bad after all!