An introduction to pervasive negative beliefs

Pervasive negative beliefs are deeply held core ideas that influence thinking patterns, interpretations of events, and behavioral responses. When activated, these ideas trigger unhelpful response mechanisms and mood or anxiety symptoms. One type of pervasive beliefs that occur in anxiety and depressive disorders is negative core beliefs. Think about these beliefs like goggles. They are filters through which you interpret reality.

Negative core beliefs typically fall into three broad categories:

● Helplessness (There’s nothing I can do to make this better.)

● Hopelessness (This is never going to get better.)

● Worthlessness (I am unworthy of love or acceptance. I am bad.)

Content typically includes:

● Beliefs about self (I am unlovable and unworthy.)

● Beliefs about others (People are uncaring and judgmental.)

● Beliefs about the world (The world is a dangerous place.)

● Beliefs about the future (Things will not get better.)

Negative Core Beliefs are to Depression like Second Fear is to Anxiety Disorders.

Second fear turns an anxiety state into an anxiety disorder because the fear of the fear creates resistance that creates more fear (and more resistance and more fear).

Negative core beliefs turn a feeling into a depressive state because the interpretation of that feeling is that it means the person is helpless, hopeless, or worthless.

Without a negative core belief, you can label and allow a feeling and then use the feeling as information about how you’d like to act next. So, for instance, if you feel lonely and you don’t add a negative core belief to it, you can use it as information that you should call someone. You will likely feel less lonely.

If a negative core belief is triggered, you are likely to ignore and suppress the feeling and then get stuck in your beliefs about being helpless, hopeless, or worthless. Using the same example, feeling lonely might make you believe that you are so hopeless and worthless that you become less likely to call and connect with someone. You will likely feel more lonely.

Getting through core beliefs can be more challenging than second fear, because anxious sensations and thoughts are easier to identify once you know what to observe. Core beliefs also feel very personal, making it difficult to clearly see what’s happening. Daily journaling can help you notice what you feel on a daily basis and how your core beliefs connect to your feelings.