From the author: The article outlines one of the options for a system for independently identifying and challenging toxic attitudes, often proposed in REBT (and CBT). I am publishing it with some author’s additions - for everyone and potential clients in particular.I. Collecting Material It is worth keeping, if not a notepad, then at least an electronic text file - what you need to do in it: Dates. At a minimum, a one-week period is worth trying.Events. Specific everyday situations that cause a painful or sufficiently uncomfortable (to be undesirable) emotional response. There may be several events in one day - but I personally recommend to start by focusing on identifying the most demonstrative, “dramatic” and typical. Emotions. For each event, note the unpleasant (usually negative) emotion associated with it; it is clear that there may be several of them - but in any case, in each specific situation, one will be leading, “dominant”. The aspect of the situation with which the emotion is associated. As a rule, it is not just an event, but its interpretation, i.e. a certain automatic conclusion about the meaning of what is happening (“unconscious conclusion”, described by G. Helmholtz). To clarify, you can focus on the following standard list of emotional problems and interpretations leading to them: Fear (anxiety, panic, etc.) - Danger, threat , risk Anger (anger, aggression, rage, etc.) - Attack, interference, violation of boundaries Depression (sadness, depression, etc.) - Loss, failure Shame - disgrace, humiliation Guilt - “crime”, misconduct, causing offense etc. Resentment - humiliating treatment Pity - unfair troubles, deprivations, etc. Jealousy - a threat to significant relationships from the 3rd person Envy - “unfair deprivation” of an important resource II. Detection of Toxic AttitudesNext, we select some situation from the list, and, having identified the main problematic emotion and the key conclusion, we apply the “Descent along the Chain” technique, starting from this conclusion: A. Let's assume that this is exactly the case. What then follows from this? Both steps are important to take; even if the formulated thought does not seem entirely correct or reliable, we do not dispute it, but use it to gain access to deeper beliefs (which, ultimately, determine whether the “output” emotion will be problematic and unhealthy, or constructive and functional , albeit negative). By the way, readers highly advanced in cognitive psychology may notice that this is very similar to the isolation and verbalization of the so-called. heuristics, which are described in detail by Daniel Kahneman (2011) and Gerd Gigerenzer (2015). According to their works, heuristics are simplified to primitive rules (“If X, then Y”; “A, then B”, “When 0, then 1”, etc.) for making decisions under conditions of uncertainty; and it is they who ultimately “generate” cognitive errors and distortions in conclusions (according to Kahneman - Gigerenzer emphasizes their useful functions in everyday adaptation). REBT fully supports this model, but based on clinical material and formal logic, without referring to specific studies by Kahneman and colleagues (and in other terms, of course). Until what point is it necessary to repeat this cycle? Exactly until any of the following attitudes are revealed (spontaneously, as a rule - as the next consequence): Uncompromising Demand: “I must...”, “I must...”, “necessarily...” , “it is necessary...”, etc. “Terrorization”: “this is terrible / monstrous / fucked up / the end of the world / catastrophe”, etc. *Intolerance: “I can’t stand it,” “definitely not I can bear it”, “I won’t survive”, etc. Global Depreciation: “I’m shitty”, “I’m a complete asshole/sheep”, “useless to anyone”, “all women are creatures”, etc.** *Naturally, when it comes to a situation that represents a real catastrophe or tragedy, the work here will be different, you can leave this to work with a specialist.**Despite the fact that in textbooks and manuals we usually use something more normative(“I’m stupid”, “I’m useless”, “all men lie”, etc.) - everyone understands that these are the costs of censorship, and we communicate with ourselves (and with close friends) something like this, with the help "strong" expressions. III. Challenging Problematic Beliefs. At this stage, we “interrogate” any or each of the attitudes obtained as a result of step II using the formal method developed by A. Ellis in the 80s for homework for his clients (which, in general, I do now ). A modern version, made in the form of a web page in English, can be found on the REBT Network; Below are the relevant critical questions, adapted and expanded in Russian: What destructive idea do I want to challenge and overcome? Why is this particular idea wrong, harmful and baseless? Can serious arguments be made in support of this idea? If you trust this idea - what is the worst thing? , what can happen to me? What good can be achieved if you don’t believe in this idea? What rational alternative to this idea can be offered? And in the end - most likely, at first you will feel vaguely, and then clearly, that there is really confidence in this belief as - then it disappears. If not, the effect is not felt - it’s worth going through the list one more time or two, forming more convincing statements and achieving the effect of “exhaustion” (when nothing else “fits” as an answer). Important - for maximum “exhaust” " - give high-quality, well-thought-out and detailed answers to each specified question, avoiding learned “rules” and platitudes, philosophical abstract reasoning and the like. Concrete, specific answers essentially are what lead to results. It’s also a good idea to similarly record, write down your results of performing this technique and save; in the end, if you work through all the situations in a week, you will already have a serious “portfolio” (and no one is stopping you from continuing!). You can notice the fact noted by the authors in the links above - that doubting, subjecting your ideas and conclusions to critical analysis is much more labor-intensive and less comfortable than just taking it on faith. But this is the main task - emotional reactions occur as a result of automatic information processing; to change them, it is necessary to switch to “manual control” and follow this process quite carefully - the “unconscious” system of the psyche does not have critical ability as a function.IV. What next? As a rule, for “naive subjects”, that is, those who use such a systematic method of solving emotional problems for the first time, the simple process of cognitive challenging causes noticeable relief and the experience of “enlightenment”. However, this is clearly not the end of the work - this is just theoretical "insight", speculative intellectual understanding; a step that is necessary but not sufficient for real change. The fact is that when we talk about attitudes, we mean approximately the same thing as in the term “habits”: i.e. some typical and monotonous actions. It’s the same here, we’re just not talking about overt actions, but about the processes of representation, reflection and reasoning, hidden from the eyes of others, but nevertheless quite real. And no stable habits, as we know, “at the snap of a finger” disappear or change into new ones in one day. Which also entails an inevitable period of discomfort - which is normal constructive stress; If a person has been learning to play the guitar for 2 years, and has learned a completely incorrect positioning of his hands and fingers, in the process of relearning it will be even more difficult for him than for a complete beginner. I see, why? And how much we have “trained” ourselves in our irrational beliefs - most often, much longer than a couple of years. However, this period is quite uplifting; on average about 4-6 weeks, and longer for the so-called “nuclear beliefs”, subject to active development. Over time, the “strain” and feeling of unnaturalness will seriously decrease, and new thoughts, feelings and behavior will be as spontaneous and mechanical as the previous ones. In the REBT model this is called.