Mastering the Emotional Effects of Negative Thinking

Understanding the Emotional Effects of the Fall

The emotional effects of the fall have had a persisting impact on all of humankind.

Consider for a moment the following questions: Do you struggle with worry about minor matters or perhaps worry about things that might happen in the future? Have you ever experienced a panic attack? Do you “clam up” when you are in social situations and become extremely uncomfortable when you must be in front of others? Do you dislike tight spaces? Do you often worry about your health and become uncomfortable when you experience unknown bodily sensations? Do you check Google when you feel a “twinge” in your body, hoping to find answers? Maybe you feel down and depressed while finding it difficult to enjoy activities that you used to enjoy. Do you experience “scary” thoughts that come into your mind, that then lead you to seek reassurance from others or attempt to block thoughts that may seem contrary to the Word of God? Do you “fly off the handle” over what other people would consider small things? Do you have a difficult time tolerating the unknown? Or maybe you avoid situations because they seem to trigger uncomfortable feelings in your body. Do you lie awake at night because of your thoughts? Do you have a difficult time praying or hearing from God due to your mind wandering to either the future or the past?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, do these symptoms cause you personal distress or impairment in everyday functioning (e.g., work, school, relationships, church, or social activities)? Some examples of distress and impairment in functioning include not being able to speak up in group settings out of fear of negative evaluation, not being assertive, missing out on leisure activities due to anxiety or depression, frequent panic attacks, your sleep being disrupted on a regular basis due to not being able to turn off your thoughts, or avoiding places and situations altogether due to feeling uncomfortable.

If you struggle in any capacity with what I just mentioned, then perhaps the tendency toward negative emotionality that initially occurred in the Garden is the culprit. Yet, learning to be renewed allows you to partner with the Holy Spirit in reprograming your tendency to overreact in situations with intense emotions.

Our core beliefs about ourselves, the world, and others/God often sound as follows: “I am __________, the world is__________, and others are/God is __________.” Over time, if we have a tendency toward negative emotionality, have negative life experiences, or receive negative messages from our family of origin, we often develop core beliefs that conflict with who we are according to the Bible. When this negative learning occurs, we might think about ourselves in a negative light, think of others as “more put together” or untrustworthy, and think about the future as dangerous. Our thoughts about God are also shaped by similar experiences, and we can unfortunately learn to view God as condemning, distant, or angry.

Steps to Renew Your Emotional Thinking

The good news is that you can change the way you think if you practice. Changing your thought life is not as simple as just thinking positively; it is more important that you learn how to be renewed in your thinking. This requires asking yourself if there are other ways to view situations that will lead to different emotional experiences, as well as studying the Bible and letting Scripture influence your thinking patterns.

Applying Faith-Based Cognitive Behavioral Techniques

Proverbs 23:7 states, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you have learned to think of yourself as not being a morning person, you will never be a morning person. If you think of yourself as type A, then you can’t be anything else (there is no such thing as a personality “type” by the way). If you think of yourself as a hothead, you will always respond to anger in a negative way. If you think of yourself as a “worrywart,” then you will always respond to anxiety with worry. The good news is that both the Word of God and cognitive behavioral therapy reveal the same truth: in order to change the way you think, you must initially be aware of these negative thoughts and then “think on” different thoughts. Along these lines, the method that I use with clients on a regular basis is to help them

(1) identify the thoughts that lead to negative emotions,

(2) identify the traps in the way they think about a given situation,

(3) learn how to challenge their thoughts with truth (kingdom questions), and

(4) replace these thoughts by “putting on” alternative thoughts.