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Chapter 6 - The Daily Mood Log - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 6 - The Daily Mood Log
Basics
Based on the theory
When you change the way you think
You change the way you feel
The procedure
Upsetting Event
Write a brief description of the upsetting event at the top of the Daily Mood Log
Make sure the description is specific as to
person
,
place
and
time
.
Good questions to ask yourself:
What time of day was it?
Where was I?
What was going on?
Choose any moment when you were feeling anxious or upset
Emotions
Circle
the words that describe how you were feeling at that moment
And
rate
each feeling on a scale from 0% (not at all) to 100% (extreme).
Put these ratings in the
% Before
column.
It's important to identify and rate your negative emotions
Because specific kinds of feelings result from certain kinds of negative thoughts
Doing this will make it easier to identify your negative thoughts in Step 3.
Negative Thoughts
Pinpoint the negative thoughts
associated with each feeling.
Ask yourself questions like:
"When I feel guilty, what am I thinking?"
"What thoughts are flowing through my mind?"
"When I feel anxious and worried, what am I telling myself?"
Rate
how much you believe
each thought
on a scale from 0% (not at all) to 100% (completely).
Put these ratings in the
% Before
column
List them in the
Negative Thoughts
column.
Use complete sentences
eg, Don't put "go crazy" because it doesn't mean anything
Instead you could write "I'm on the verge of going crazy."
But keep each thought relatively short
One sentence is normally enough
It's difficult to work with long, rambling thoughts.
Try to avoid rhetorical questions
like "Why am I so anxious all the time?"
This is because you can't effectively give the lie to a question
However, you
can
transform a rhetorical question into a negative thought
like: "I shouldn't be so anxious all the time"
Or "There must be something wrong with me"
Or "What's wrong with me?"
Don't put descriptions of feelings into this section
Record your feelings in the
Emotions
section
If you describe your feelings in the
Negative Thoughts
column
You'll get frustrated because you can't disprove a feeling
Likewise, don't try to describe the
event
in the
Negative Thoughts
column
It doesn't belong there either as it is the description of an event.
Distortions
Identify the distortions in each negative thought
Using the
Checklist of Cognitive Distortions
at the bottom of the second page of the Daily Mood Log.
Use abbreviations to save time.
Positive Thoughts
Challenge
each negative thought with a new thought that's more positive and realistic.
Remember the
necessary
and
sufficient
conditions required for the positive thought to allow for emotional change.
Rate
how much you believe each
positive thought
on a scale from 0% (not at all) to 100% (completely).
Put these ratings in the
% Belief
column
Now
rate
your belief in your
negative thoughts
again, and put the new ratings in the
% After
column.
This step will be difficult
If it was easy to do, you wouldn't need help with it in the first place
Initial efforts probably won't be very effective
Either
The positive thoughts won't be 100% true
So they'll fail to fulfill the necessary condition for emotional change
They won't give the lie to the negative thoughts
So they'll fail to fulfill the sufficient condition for emotional change
Don't worry about this
Later chapters will describe techniques that will help give the lie to negative thoughts
And they'll also show you how to select the techniques most likely to work for you, now, and whenever else you need them in the future
See the
Daily Mood Log
form
Notes
The first step is extremely important
All of your problems will be embedded in any single moment when you were feeling anxious or upset
When you pinpoint the negative thoughts and feelings you were having, you understand the
cause
of all your worrying.
When you learn to change the way you were thinking and feeling at that moment
You'll understand the solution to those worries.
What do you gain from identifying distortions in your negative thoughts?
First, you'll see that the negative thoughts aren't nearly as
realistic
as you thought.
How realistic can a thought be when it contains so many distortions?
Second, the distortions will give you some guidance about how to give the lie to the thought
The rest of the book contains many techniques that will help you put an end to feelings of anxiety, panic, and depression.
Once you've identified the distortions in a thought
You can make some educated guesses about which techniques to try first.
For a positive thought to change the way you feel at a gut level
It has to fulfill two conditions
The Necessary Condition
The positive thought must be
(almost) 100% true
, or it won't help.
Rationalisations and half-truths won't change the way you think and feel.
The Sufficient Condition
The positive thought has to
give the lie
to the negative thought.
Remember, when you change the way you
think
, you can change the way you
feel
.
The Daily Mood Log may seem simple
But it's a very sophisticated tool for changing how you think and feel.
It can help uncover hidden emotions underlying your fears
Trying to do this process in your head won't work
Your negative thoughts will chase each other around in endless circles.
Your task will be far easier if you record your negative thoughts and feelings on paper.
Then you can focus on them one-at-a-time.