Do you often have negative thoughts that freeze your hopes and demoralize you? It happens to all of us. Inside us lives a horror movie scriptwriter who sometimes takes control and creates the most terrifying thought processes. But we always manage to reframe it and develop a more realistic and healthy focus. However, in recent years we have been witnessing a disturbing fact: More and more people allow themselves to be captured by spontaneous thoughts. These are repetitive and challenging thinking patterns that can lay the foundation for a mental health problem.
Some people give way to these automatic thoughts: they are unable to stop and She gives way to irrational and catastrophic thoughts until she loses control of her life. From a clinical perspective, knowing what a patient’s thoughts are allows us to assess the risk of developing depression. A number of tools have been developed for this purpose. One stands out from the others: We then analyze the Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-R).
Automatic thoughts are a huge danger to our mental health. It can lead to anxiety disorders or depression, among other things.
The Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-R): Purpose and Characteristics
Our thoughts can shed light on problems like beacons, or they can be a frustrating burden. They often unsettle us, awakening the pain of the past and making us look to the future with great skepticism. It is true that it is always impossible to think positively and hopefully, but the key is to control your thoughts and learn how to justify them.
The moment inaccurate, fatalistic, and irrational thoughts take hold of us, the mind changes. As surprising as it may sound, this is exactly what more and more people are experiencing in recent years as a result of the health crisis, social changes, and economic problems. We should also be aware of an important fact: The University of Regina at… investigation It found that depressive symptoms were significantly associated with negative automatic thoughts. One way to determine if a person is at risk of developing a mood disorder is the ATQ-R questionnaire.
The importance we place on our irrational thoughts is a risk factor for depression.
Useful tool in psychotherapy
The ATQ-R Automatic Thought Questionnaire is a By psychologists and researchers Stephen D. Holon and Philip C. Kendall Upgraded tool, which aims to identify cognitions associated with depression. So it is not simply a matter of judging whether or not a person has irrational thoughts with negative valence.
The goal is to knowWhether the patient acknowledges the reality of the distorted images and trains of thought that he or she produces. This test is based on psychotherapist Aaron Beck’s theory of the depression triad. In other words, we are all at risk of falling into this mental disorder when three factors are present:
- One A negative view of ourselves And a negative interpretation of what is happening to us.
- Firm adherence and Inflexible thinking patterns.
- Signs wrong conceptssuch as catastrophe, black and white dichotomous thinking, etc.
In these three cases, the questionnaire developed by Holon and Kendall is very useful. One Stady Demonstrates the importance of paying attention to the thoughts and internal dialogues that people display in the clinical setting.
What does this questionnaire consist of?
The Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-R) consists of 30 self-affirmations that the individual must rate from 0 to 4 according to their definition of. It’s phrases like “No one understands me,” “I wish I was away from here,” or “I let everyone down.”.
It also classifies those ideas which the person is asked to classify into four categories, from which the final result is derived. This shows whether the person is at risk or is already suffering from a depressive disorder.
- Negative self-perception: A person’s deflated self-image.
- Helplessness: the belief that any effort or initiative to change one’s reality is futile.
- Poor Adaptation: Inability to deal with daily changes and problems.
- Self-Blame: Powerful Self-Criticism.
The Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-R) has been updated over the years and is considered a valid tool for identifying depressive cognition.
How valid and reliable is this tool?
The Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-R) was developed by Netemeyer in 2002 et al. updated and according to scientific literature a Valid and effective tool. It is easy to use and provides useful indicators for assessing cognition related to depression.
Interestingly, it is also a common tool in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It is not only used to identify the presence of a possible depressive disorder, however It also allows self-assessment of changes during psychotherapy.
The purpose of this test is not to assess the number of distorted and negative thoughts a person is producing. The test determines whether the person is honest about any negative thoughts they are producing. This is the real problem we have to deal with. Not everything we think is right, useful and rational. When we can analyze and change the content of truth in our internal dialogue, we make an important contribution to psychological well-being.
You may also be interested in this…
“Total coffee aficionado. Travel buff. Music ninja. Bacon nerd. Beeraholic.”
More Stories
Reducing silent inflammation in the body with food
The stickleback in Lake Constance is not introduced from the outside
Blurred vision could be inflammation