Negative thinking patterns can have a profound impact on our mental and emotional well-being. Whether it’s constant self-criticism, catastrophizing, or feeling trapped by negative beliefs about oneself or the world, these patterns can contribute to anxiety, depression, and stress. The good news is that with the right strategies, negative thinking can be transformed. Karen Hawk Gilbert, a compassionate psychologist in Gilbert, specializes in helping individuals identify, challenge, and replace negative thought patterns. In this blog, we’ll explore Dr. Hawk’s approach to overcoming negative thinking, which empowers clients to cultivate a healthier, more balanced mindset.

Negative thinking patterns, also known as cognitive distortions, are ways of thinking that perpetuate negative emotions and beliefs. These patterns often lead individuals to view situations through a lens of pessimism, self-doubt, or fear. Common cognitive distortions include:

Catastrophizing: Expecting the worst-case scenario to happen.

Overgeneralizing: Believing that because one bad thing happened, it will always happen.

All-or-nothing thinking: Viewing situations as either completely good or completely bad, with no middle ground.

Personalization: Blaming oneself for things outside of one’s control.

Negative filtering: Focusing only on the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positive.

Dr. Karen Hawk explains that everyone experiences negative thinking from time to time, but when these patterns become entrenched, they can affect how we feel, behave, and interact with the world. Overcoming these patterns requires both awareness and active intervention. Dr. Hawk uses a variety of therapeutic techniques to help her clients break free from these distorted thinking habits.

Strategy 1: Identifying Negative Thoughts

The first step in overcoming negative thinking is identifying when it occurs. Dr Karen Hawk Psychologist Gilbert encourages her clients to become more mindful of their thought patterns and to notice when they begin to engage in negative self-talk. Many people are unaware of the constant flow of negative thoughts that shape their perceptions and actions.

Through therapy, Dr. Hawk helps individuals develop greater self-awareness by journaling, using thought logs, or engaging in mindfulness practices. These tools allow individuals to track their thoughts throughout the day, noticing when negative thinking patterns arise. By simply recognizing these patterns, individuals can start to break the cycle of automatic negative thinking.

Strategy 2: Challenging Negative Thoughts

Dr karen hawk psychologist gilbert Once negative thoughts are identified, the next step is to challenge them. Dr. Karen Hawk uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help clients question the validity of their thoughts. CBT is grounded in the idea that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all interconnected, and that by changing negative thoughts, we can change how we feel and act.