Positive psychology and resilience: our current guide
What this page said
The page argued that most stress and emotional suffering come from the way people think about a situation, and that the thoughts behind stress are usually negative, unrealistic and distorted. Its programs used a cognitive and behavioural approach to help patients recognise self-defeating thoughts and irrational beliefs, followed by cognitive restructuring to replace automatic negative responses with positive, affirming ones.
A companion page, From Negative to Positive, walked readers through examining their automatic thoughts in a common stressful situation such as traffic, public speaking or conflict, asking whether the thoughts follow a pattern, exaggerate the situation or involve self-blame.
Key points from the original
- Stress often stems from distorted, negative thinking.
- Cognitive restructuring replaces automatic negative thoughts.
- Readers were prompted to examine their own thought patterns.