A.N.T.s

Currently I'm reading a great book called Change Your Brain, Change Your Body by Dr. Amen. So far its been a very interesting read, and I've learned A LOT about the human brain. But one of the things in the book that caught my attention and seemed like a perfect fit for this blog was Dr. Amen's theory regarding ANT's ( or Automatic Negative Thoughts). Sometimes when were stressed are brains directs us toward these negative thoughts, anything from only focusing on the negative to blaming ourselves or others. Dr. Amen approaches ANTs like this: When your brain has a though, it releases chemicals. Thus, if you have a negative thought, your brain will release negative chemicals; chemicals that can make you feel tired, tense, or maybe even dizzy. Pretty simple right? So, if you want to feel better, you need to train yourself to let go of the ANTs. He recommends a system of "identifying and killing" your ANTS.  First you'd write out your ANT. Then you'd identify it. Is your ANT a always/never ANT (using vocal like always or never), or are you focusing on the negative, predicting negative thoughts about your future, thinking others are thinking negative things about you, believing negative feelings, having guilt, negatively labeling, negatively personalizing events, or blaming others?   Now after completely addressing and identifying your ANT like so, you need to kill it; you need to talk back and problem solve your negative thought. And volia! You slowly, by doing the above process, train yourself to limit your ANTs and make yourself feel better!