Cognitive Restructuring while under Stress

This resource describes methods to re-view a stressful situation in order to better understand it and to better respond to the challenges.

Preview Points

• When people are highly stressed, they may be focused on how overwhelming the current situation feels like.
• “Cognitive restructuring” refers to re-conceiving a particular situation or approach to the situation.
• When people are under stress, they may lapse into a kind of “tunnel vision.” They may not see options which exist.

Contents

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR STRESSFUL AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS:

• Is this really true?
• Am I jumping to conclusions?
• What is the evidence?
• Am I exaggerating or over-emphasizing a negative aspect of the situation?
• Am I catastrophizing?
• How do I know it will happen?
• So what if it really does happen?
• Is it really as bad as it seems?
• Is it to my advantage to maintain this appraisal?
• Is there another way to look at the situation?

Concluding Points

• Terms that help to identify stressful automatic thoughts include the following: must, should, always, never, and ought.
• Think about other ways to reconceptualize the situation to be more accurate and less overwhelming.