Recognizing negative thought patterns is the first step in reframing them.Īsk questions. Along with talking about their thoughts, journaling and meditation can help teens notice their habits and tendencies. Often negative thinking has become so habitual that teens don’t realize that they are automatically defaulting to the worst outcome or judgment. Support them to become more aware of their thoughts. Here are some ways to help teens learn to practice cognitive reframing on a daily basis. Reframing negative thoughts and situations can help struggling teens feel more empowered and hopeful. E= Effecting a change in one’s beliefs and feelings surrounding the activating eventĦ Ways to Help Teens Practice Reframing Negative Thoughts.D = the process of Disputing or confronting these negative beliefs.B= the Beliefs that lead to negative emotions.C= the Consequences or feelings related to the activating event.A = the Activating event associated with negative thoughts.One cognitive restructuring technique is known as ABCDE method: For example, with positive self-talk, a teen can reframe “I’m bad at X” into “I’m still learning how to do X.” Or, “I messed everything up” might be reframed as “I see what didn’t work well and I can do it differently next time.” Positive self-talk for teenagers also trains the brain to look for strengths and opportunities rather than flaws and problems. Practicing these Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques for adolescents can enhance self-esteem and self-confidence. Learning to talk to themselves with kindness and compassion is a type of cognitive reframing. Rather than being compassionate advocates for themselves, teens tend to judge themselves harshly, and imagine that others do, too. The Benefits of Cognitive Reframing and Positive Self-Talk for Teenagersįor teens, negative thinking is often focused inward as negative self-talk. Reframing can also be an effective approach for teens who are struggling with: Researchers believed this could be particularly helpful for teens with social anxiety. For example, one study found that teens who received positive training were able to more easily reframe social situations. In fact, constantly thinking about what might go wrong-what’s known as catastrophizing-undermines our health and well-being.Ĭognitive reframing can help teens to break the habit of negativity and see the world in new and more positive ways. How Reframing Negative Thoughts Impacts Mental HealthĬlearly, negativity bias no longer serves our best interests. Question the truth of their negative beliefs.Better comprehend and analyze what they’re experiencing.Change distorted thinking about situations or people.Shift their focus to the positives rather than negatives of a given situation. Through reframing negative thoughts, teens are able to: Reframing negative thoughts can help adolescents change the way they think about a given situation, and thus change how they feel and behave in response to it. Hence, cognitive reframing can help teens shift their mindset and point of view, allowing them to see a situation, person, or relationship from a healthier perspective. Thus, changing our thoughts also changes our emotions and behavior. The foundational concept of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is that the way we think influences how we feel, and how we feel influences the way we act. Reframing, sometimes called cognitive reframing or cognitive restructuring, is one of the most effective Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques for adolescents. Reframing can help teens to break the habit of negativity and see the world, and themselves, in new and more positive ways. That’s why reframing negative thoughts is so important for supporting teen mental health. Over time, however, these patterns of negative thinking can lead to feelings of anger and hopelessness, and eventually to mental health issues like anxiety and depression. That’s where the stereotype of a negative teenager comes from. As a result, teens are hardwired to focus on the bad stuff, like a failed test, a critical comment, or a missed soccer goal, rather than the good things that also happened, like receiving a compliment, laughing with a friend, or a hug from a loved one. People who paid close attention to signs of danger were more likely to escape a tiger attack or a tornado. So-called “negativity bias” is an evolutionary mechanism that dates back to our earliest ancestors. It’s natural to have negative thoughts-in fact, it’s a survival mechanism. It’s inevitable that they will face challenges and doubt themselves during this tumultuous period of growth. Teens are striving to build self-worth, shape an independent identity, and form relationships outside of the family. That’s understandable, because adolescence is hard. Teens often have negative thoughts and self-judgments like these playing on a loop inside their heads.
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