6. The ABC Framework Situation 1: You've have had a bad day, feel fed up, so go out shopping. As you walk down the road, someone you know walks by and, apparently, ignores you. 1/ Irrational thought: He/she ignored me - they don't like me - Cognitive distortions : Fortune telling, Mind reading, Labelling, Overgeneralisation, Emotional Reasoning - Emotional: Feeling low, sad and rejected - Physical: Stomach cramps, low energy, feel sick - Behaviour: Go home - avoid them
2/ Rational thought: He/she looks a bit wrapped up in themselves – I wonder if there's something wrong? -
Cognitive distortions : none Emotional: Concerned for the other person Physical: None, feel comfortable Behaviour: Get in touch to make sure they're OK
Situation 2: Person 1: - A (Activating Situation) = A friend does not return your phone call - B (Beliefs/Thoughts) = “I must have done something to upset them. I am such a horrible person.” - C (Consequence/Effect) = Anxious, upset, depressed Person 2: - A (Activating Situation) = A friend does not return your phone call - B (Beliefs/Thoughts) = “They’re probably just really busy, and haven’t had time to get back to me yet.” - C (Consequence/ Effect) = Content, neutral The above examples show how two people may experience the same situation, but have very different reactions to the event based on how they interpret and evaluate the situation according to their thoughts and beliefs. The right process is basically a four step procedure: 1/ we clearly look at what actually happened not what we think happened. 2/ we identify our irrational thought and it is a good idea to see what one, or ones of the cognitive distortions is involved. 3/ we look at what a rational thought could be for the situation 4/ and then look at what action we can take do something concrete and positive about it.