We will now discuss strategies to help you meet your goals for developing healthier core beliefs.
Defining core beliefs: One of the big problems with deep sadness and depression is that everything seems like a big cloudy dark mess. And because everything seems so tangled, all problems seem impossible to solve. Seeing your problems this way can lead to bigger problems such as hopelessness. Looking at one core belief at a time is essential to slowly untangling the problems.
An example to help you along…
Many individuals describe themselves as being a “loser” But what does that mean exactly? In order to change it, we must define it. Here are a few ways to look at it:
• No friends? • Not being able to make friends? • No job? • No money? • Ugly? • Stupid?
Now by breaking down the idea of “being a loser”, it’s given us a definition that is concrete and that we can challenge. Before doing that, you should replace the negative core belief with a positive one. For this example, we will use successful. (Don’t forget to define this idea also as we will use it again later.)
How will you define a core belief you want to work on?
