Breaking an issue into its component parts is critical to making progress.
Global versus specific thinking in treating depression
A pivotal moment in my career as a Calgary psychologist occurred when I attended a talk presented to the general public by a renowned psychologist who was visiting Calgary. The speaker gave his audience several principles to keep in mind to help them win the battle against depression. One of these principles is the subject of this article: Think in specific terms rather than globally. This involves moving away from global thinking about the issue in which you view depression as an overwhelming problem that you feel helpless to address.
Thinking of depression in specific terms involves breaking the issue down into the specific components which contribute to it. These include stressful situations you are dealing with, past events which continue to affect your mood, a lack of pleasurable activities or a surplus of unpleasant activities, negative thinking and perceptions, and issues related to your physical well-being such as sleep, diet and health concerns. Once you have identified the specific elements contributing to your depression, you can begin to address these elements so that your depression lifts. I have helped my clients use this ‘get specific’ principle with success in depression counseling. In the remainder of this article, I will show you how you can use the principle to make progress on other issues.
Advantages of thinking specifically in addressing anxiety
In my work with clients in anxiety counseling, I have observed first-hand that anxiety is a ‘textbook case’ of the perils of thinking globally. Anxiety typically involves worrying about one or more negative events occurring in the future using global ‘what if?’ thinking. Ruminating on ‘what if?’ this or that negative event happens provides fuel for high levels of anxiety. This rumination is an example of the problems a person encounters by not getting specific about an issue. That is, the person usually does not break things down into specific predictions about the likelihood of certain negative events occurring nor do they make plans for how they would cope if these events do happen. Instead, the person engages in catastrophic thinking about worst-case scenarios which may be unlikely to occur and assumes they would not be able to cope with the events if they do indeed occur. It’s not surprising that this kind of thinking typically leads to high levels of anxiety.
Now consider how getting specific about these future events can help you reduce your anxiety. First, write down in detail each specific event you are concerned will happen. For example, if you have worries about your job and your finances, write down each specific concern you have about these two aspects of your life. Next, assess with the evidence you have available the likelihood that each of the concerns will occur. This step will frequently reduce anxiety because you will often realize that the likelihood of the negative events occurring is less than you had assumed before you ‘got specific’ in your predictions. Finally, for each negative event which you’ve determined has at least some possibility of occurring, write down specific ways you can cope with the event. This step may involve planning and work but it will be well worth it. Knowing that you can cope with the events which may occur will help to further reduce your anxiety. As with depression, getting specific is the key to effectively addressing anxiety.
Get specific to feel better when you’re upset
Sometimes people come to counseling with a general feeling of upset and are seeking help in reducing this unpleasant feeling. I work with my clients to help them break their general (that is, global) feeling of upset down into specific negative moods they’re experiencing such as sadness, frustration, anxiety, guilt, anger, shame and embarrassment. Identifying the specific negative moods you’re experiencing allows you to then identify the specific negative thoughts associated with those moods because each mood has particular thoughts associated with it–this is known as the principle of cognitive specificity.
Once you’ve identified the specific thoughts ‘driving’ your negative moods, there are steps you can then take to reduce the intensity of the negative moods those thoughts are driving. One step is to test the negative thoughts with evidence to determine how accurate they are. Many times people discover when they critically examine negative thoughts with evidence that these thoughts are not true in whole or in part. For example, if you are experiencing anxiety because of thinking you will lose your job, you may discover from examining the evidence that there is a possibility you will keep your job. Discovering this typically leads to a reduction in the level of upset related to your negative mood. A second step that can help you feel better from examining the negative thoughts associated with your negative moods is that you may discover actions or behaviours you can take to reduce your distress. For example, in examining the evidence supporting and not supporting the thought that you will lose your job, you may discover that there are actions you can take to make it less likely you will lose your job. As with depression and anxiety, the road to feeling better when you have a general feeling of upset starts with getting specific.
Greater specificity equals better relationships
You can also improve your relationships by thinking specifically about them. Breaking your relationship down into its component parts allows you to identify which parts are contributing to the relationship’s problems. Once you identify those parts which are responsible, you can target those parts for change with specific actions and techniques. For example, the first way to get specific in identifying the source of your relationship difficulties is to check on how the two main parts of the relationship are faring. These two parts are the issue or problem side and the non-issue side.
The issue side focuses on how effective you and your partner are at constructively discussing problems and issues which arise. The non-issue side, sometimes called the relationship friendship, focuses on how effective your partner and you are at connecting with each other at times when you are not discussing issues. In my early sessions with couples in relationship counselling, I help them assess how their relationship is going in these two major parts. Getting specific in this assessment allows us to determine where the focus of our work should be. The assessment may lead us to focus on improving the ability to discuss issues constructively, on building the relationship friendship, or both. Once we’ve identified which of the two main parts of the relationship need work, we can improve our chances of getting the relationship back on track by getting even more specific. This involves determining which specific elements of either side of the relationship need work. For example, some couples who have difficulty discussing issues can benefit from practicing taking time-outs when discussions become gridlocked while other couples need to practice how to raise issues in a constructive manner.
Getting specific comes with a price but it is a price worth paying
Many people avoid thinking specifically about their issues because doing so requires some effort and because it necessarily involves spending time focused on negative thoughts and emotions which we would prefer to avoid facing. So thinking specifically about your issues comes with a price. But it is a price worth paying. The effort you put into breaking your issues down into specific components may not feel so good in the moment but it will ultimately help you feel significantly better about your concerns by making changes in your thinking about issues and taking action to address or cope with them.
On the other hand, if you don’t put in the effort to get specific about your concerns, you may temporarily avoid dealing head-on with your negative thoughts and emotions but your avoidance strategy means that these negative thoughts and emotions will continue to bother you at a conscious or subconscious level until you address them. So the preferred strategy of getting specific about your issues can be considered an example of ‘short-term pain for long-term gain’. If you want to gain the benefits of getting specific with your issues, it may be helpful to meet with a psychologist or other professional who can help you break your concerns down into their component parts.
May you become less global and more specific in dealing with your issues,
Dr. Pat
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