Getting to the bottom of your thoughts, sometimes when we think we've identified a negative automatic
thoughts, we are not sure why it's upsetting us.
For example, imagine you're getting dressed in the morning and when you look in the mirror, you think
your shirt looks too small for you, your mood dips dramatically and you change your outfit as you realize
what's happening.
You think back to the event and ride down event.
Getting dressed in the morning suits my shirt, looks too small, emotion, ashamed, depressed, behaviors
changed outfit.
It's hard to understand how this thing would lead you to feel ashamed of yourself and depressed.
Furthermore, there is no apparent error and thinking you do need a bigger shirt.
If there seems to be a mismatch between a thought and its effects, we can use that downward arrow technique
to look for the actual negative automatic thought.
Most likely, there is a more upsetting belief that's affecting our feelings and actions.
With their downward arrow technique, we explore the implications of our thoughts.
What does it mean in this example?
We would ask what it means that your shirt looks too small.
The name of the technique comes from the down arrows we do as we trace the line of thinking thoughts.
My shirt looks too small, which means that I've been eating too much, which means that I have no discipline,
which means that I'll never reach my goals.
I notice that with each downward arrow we get to increasingly distressing thoughts with the last two
being truly disheartening.
No, it's easier to understand feeling ashamed and depressed.
You can use the downward arrow technique whenever you need to dig deeper to identify a negative automatic.