In many cases, depression actually is the result of habitual negative thoughts. When bad things happen, we begin chastising ourselves with thoughts such as: I'm no good, Nothing ever goes my way, I'm a failure... Our feelings follow what we are thinking, and negative thoughts like these can send us spiraling down into depression.
This concept is the guiding principle behind cognitive therapy. If we think something often enough, we begin to believe it's true and our feelings match what we are thinking about ourselves. To conquer depression we must stop these automatic negative thoughts (ants) and replace them with more positive truthful ones
There are 10 faulty thought patterns that send us into depression. You may recognize yourself in some of these that I will discuss over the next few days.
The first is All or Nothing Thinking. An example of this might be is you apply for a promotion in your job. It ends up being given to someone else. You now tell yourself you are a total failure. You beat yourself up. You are having "ants". Automatic Negative Thoughts! You need to replace these thoughts with more positive, truthful ones.
Check your thinking lately... What negative tapes are playing through your head?
I'm reading a good book about thoughts. It's Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind. Our minds are the devil's playground. He constantly drops negative thoughts in our minds hoping that we will meditate on them, believe them and they will become strongholds and we will begin to speak them. The Bible says in Philippeans 4:8 "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Pray that scripture. "Father God help me to fix my thoughts on what is true....etc." I also like that scripture in Issaiah that says God will keep us in perfect peace when our minds are stayed on him because we trust in him. : )
ReplyDeleteJust opened the bible to this: "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Ahhhh... Selah. We need Him to guard our minds. His peace is priceless : )
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