Automatic negative thoughts (ATNs): how to stop the spiral
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA
Learn how to identify automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) and examples of these negative thinking patterns. Plus, how to stop automatic negative thoughts.
Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) can seem to come from nowhere. They can be overwhelming, influencing our emotions, behaviors, and overall mental health. However, when we understand ANTs, we can learn to manage them effectively.
What are automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)?
Automatic negative thoughts, or ANTs, are spontaneous, often fleeting thoughts that can cast a shadow over your mood and perceptions. They appear without conscious effort, typically as a response to certain triggers or situations, and often involve pessimistic or defeatist beliefs about yourself, others, or the future.
When ANTs go unchecked, they can contribute to a range of mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. They can distort reality, leading you to focus on failures and minimize your successes. This skewed perspective can lead to a cycle of negative thinking, making situations seem worse than they actually are.
Understanding how to recognize and identify automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) is essential for anyone looking to manage their mental health effectively. Because ANTs often arise without our immediate notice, it's easy to accept them as truths without questioning their validity.
By learning to recognize when ANTs are present, you can begin to challenge and reframe them, reducing their power over your emotions and behaviors.
How to recognize & identify automatic negative thoughts: 10 types of ANTs
Recognizing ANTs involves paying close attention to your thought patterns and the triggers that might spark negative thinking. Become an observer of your own mind, noting when a thought doesn't align with reality or is overly critical. This awareness can help you stop the thought right away, examine its truthfulness, and replace it with a more balanced perspective.
The ultimate goal in managing ANTs is to reduce the frequency and intensity of these thoughts, making them less automatic and more within your control. This shift requires practice, patience, and sometimes, the support of mental health professionals who can provide strategies tailored to your specific needs.
Common types of automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)
All-or-nothing thinking: Viewing situations in black-and-white categories without recognizing any middle ground.
Overgeneralization: Taking a single event and generalizing it to your entire life. For instance, failing at a task might lead you to think, "I fail at everything I try."
Mental filtering: Focusing exclusively on the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring any positive ones.
Disqualifying the positive: Convincing yourself that positive things, such as compliments or positive feedback, don't count.
Jumping to conclusions: Making negative interpretations without definite facts to support them. This includes mind-reading (assuming the thoughts and intentions of others) and fortune-telling (predicting things will turn out badly).
Magnification (catastrophizing) or minimization: Magnifying negative aspects of a situation or minimizing positive ones.
Emotional reasoning: The belief that if you feel something, it must be true.
Should statements: Using "should," "ought," or "must" to motivate yourself, may lead to guilt and frustration.
Labeling and mislabeling: Assigning general negative labels to yourself or others based on specific events.
Self-blame: Attributing external events to your own actions, even when you have no control over them.
Examples of automatic thoughts:
Job-related: "My boss didn't immediately respond to my email, so I must be in trouble or my work isn't good enough."
Family-related: "My child didn't do well on their test because I'm not a good enough parent."
Friendship-related: "My friend canceled our plans. They’re mad at me."
Recognizing these types of ANTs is the first step toward managing them. It's about developing a keen awareness of your thought patterns and the situations that trigger negative thinking. When you start to notice these thoughts, you can begin to question their validity, challenge their truth, and gradually replace them with more balanced and realistic thoughts.
Identifying ANTs is a skill that improves with practice. Developing a compassionate awareness of your mental habits can help you work toward a healthier mindset.
What happens when you don’t address negative thinking patterns or ANTs
Ignoring or not addressing automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) can lead to detrimental effects on both your mental and physical wellbeing, as negative thinking patterns become more frequent and more intense. This can have a significant impact on your overall quality of life, relationships, and health.
Consequences on mental health and physical health
1. Increased anxiety and stress: Constant negative thinking can keep your body in a heightened state of stress, leading to anxiety.
2. Depression: Prolonged exposure to negative thoughts can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, key symptoms of depression. Negative thinking patterns can cause a downward spiral of mood.
3. Low self-esteem: Frequently criticizing yourself or expecting failure can erode your self-esteem, making you doubt your abilities and worth.
4. Relationship issues: Negative thinking can affect how you interact with others. Assuming people think negatively of you can lead to isolation and loneliness.
5. Poor sleep quality: Anxiety and stress caused by negative thinking can make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep, and—over time—sleep disorders.
6. Weakened immune system: Chronic stress caused by constant negative thinking can weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to infections and illnesses.
How to stop spiraling: 8 ways to help you quiet automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)
Addressing and quieting automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) is essential for maintaining mental health and preventing negative spirals that can impact every aspect of life, but it’s a process that takes time. Start with one or two strategies below and build from there. Celebrate small victories along the way, and be patient with yourself as you work toward a more positive and balanced mindset.
1. Question or challenge the thought
When a negative thought arises, pause and consider whether there's real evidence to support it. Often, these thoughts are based on habit rather than fact. Asking yourself questions like, "Is this thought true?" or "Is there another way to look at this situation?" can help break the cycle of negative thinking.
💙 Explore how to Overcome Negative Thinking as Chibs Okereke leads you through a kindness meditation.
2. Engage in positive self-talk
Replacing negative thoughts with positive statements can help shift your mindset. This doesn't mean ignoring problems—instead, you’re approaching them with a more balanced perspective. For example, instead of thinking, "I'll never be able to do this," try telling yourself, "I can tackle this challenge step by step."
💙 Shift Your Self-Talk with guidance from Jay Shetty.
3. Practice reframing
Reframing involves changing the way you perceive a situation—looking for the silver lining or considering what you can learn. This technique can help you move from a mindset of victimhood to one of empowerment and action.
💙 Cultivate feelings of positivity with a Reframing Difficult Thoughts technique.
4. Make time for meditation and mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness can help you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them. By focusing on the present moment, you can reduce the impact of negative thoughts and prevent them from escalating.
💙 If you’re new to mindfulness, our Mindfulness for Beginners series is a great place to start.
5. Write your thoughts down
Journaling about your thoughts can help you understand them more clearly. It can help you track patterns in your thinking and identify negative thought triggers.
6. Practice self-compassion
Recognize that everyone experiences negative thoughts at times. Practicing self-compassion means treating yourself with the same kindness that you’d offer a friend in distress.
💙 Learn from Jay Shetty on how to begin a Path of Self-Compassion.
7. Develop a support network
Surround yourself with supportive friends, family, or community members. Sharing your thoughts and feelings can help you feel less isolated and more understood.
8. Seek professional help
Get support from a mental health professional. Therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are designed to help change thinking patterns and develop healthier coping mechanisms.
Automatic negative thoughts FAQs
Why does my brain automatically think negatively?
Our brains are wired to react to negative stimuli more strongly, likely for evolutionary reasons. This "negativity bias" probably helped our ancestors stay alert to potential dangers for survival. In modern times, this bias means our minds are more likely to focus on negative experiences, thoughts, or emotions. Factors like stress, upbringing, and past experiences can reinforce this pattern, making negative thinking a default response to various situations.
Why do I keep thinking negative thoughts?
Continual negative thinking can become a habit due to a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. These might include natural predispositions toward anxiety or pessimism, learned patterns of thinking from family or societal influences, and personal experiences of trauma or stress. Over time, these influences can create a feedback loop where negative thoughts generate negative emotions, which in turn, trigger more negative thoughts, making the cycle difficult to break without intervention.
What triggers automatic thoughts?
Automatic thoughts can be triggered by specific situations, events, or stimuli that connect to your underlying beliefs or past experiences. These triggers can be a comment from a colleague, a specific location, a particular date, or even a certain time of day. Triggers often activate automatic negative thoughts by tapping into pre-existing mental frameworks or emotional wounds, leading to intense emotional responses. Identifying these triggers can help you understand and manage automatic negative thoughts effectively.
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