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I can almost see your wheels turning through this virtual screen, wide-eyed: “ANTs??” Yes. Do I mean the eusocial insects of the family Formicidae? The annoying little creatures that overtake our kitchen counters when we forgetfully leave our half-eaten donuts undefended? The stubborn species that thrive no matter the amount of pesticides sprayed in their direction? Thankfully, no.

Yet unfortunately, the ANTs I refer to is far, far worse! They are cruel pests parading around some of our minds, munching on joy and self-esteem for lunch. ANTs, also known as Automatic Negative Thoughts, are dysfunctional thinking styles that leave us feeling bad and critical about ourselves and the world, shown to increase depressive symptoms and anxiety, reduce motivation, resilience and hope (Shestyuk & Deldin, 2010; Palos & Viscu, 2014; Kapikiran, 2012; Budak et al., 2020. This concept was coined by Dr. Aaron Beck in his work on the cognitive theory of depression, known as a hallmark symptom of depression.

Although ANTs can be part of normal cognitions as well, having a consistent pattern of ANTs inhibits our “ability to function and adapt positively within [our] environment” (Arpin-Cribbie & Cribbie, 2007). These thinking styles arise more often in times of stress. Before we can defeat this colony of ANTs, it is crucial that we can, first, identify this invasive species… There are a myriad of forms they can take, so let’s learn about them.

Types of ANTs

Imagine this: You just finished your psychology exam, and you are hit with the realisation that you may not pass it. But your thoughts do not stop there… it extends: You are a failure in school. You can never become a psychologist. You should not be making any mistakes. Your stomach sinks, mind racing with chaos. These pessimistic thoughts plague you, ruining your self-esteem and confidence, despite them being cognitive distortions without concrete evidence…

  1. All-or-Nothing Thinking: Falsely dichotomising the world and ourselves into absolutes with no in-betweens. Such as: “If I make one mistake I am a complete failure.” This could lead us to give up prematurely without another chance to try.
  2. Overgeneralisation: Using words like “always”, “never”, “nothing”, “everyone” after a negative event occurs once. Such as: “I am never good enough.” “No one loves me.”
  3. Labelling: Using strong negative words to label ourselves. Such as: “I am useless.”
  4. Mental Filtering: Fixating on the negative without acknowledging the positive in a situation. Such as: “I only came in second in the competition.”
  5. Discounting the Positive: Downplaying the positives as being insignificant, undeserved, or unimportant. Such as: “It wasn’t a big deal. Anyone could have done that.” Repeated attribution of positive experiences to luck or circumstance rather than skill or effort is harmful. This can contribute to imposter syndrome.
  6. Magnification and Minimisation: Thinking an unlikely catastrophe will happen. Such as: “I scored low in this exam. I will never find a job.”
  7. “Should” and “Must” Statements: Builds up unhealthy amount of expectations and guilt in ourselves. Such as: “I should have done that already.” “I must be the best.”
  8. Emotional Reasoning: Believing that the way we feel must mean it is true. Such as: “I feel like a failure so I must be one.”
  9. Personalising: Blaming yourself for something that wasn’t entirely your fault. Such as: “It is my fault that our team did not win.”

How many of these do you find familiar and encountered in your daily life? An easy way to recognise ANTs is when we find ourselves using absolutes, very often when they are uncalled for.

For those of you who are curious, a validated questionnaire used to measure levels of ANT is the Automatic Thought Questionnaire comprising 30 items (Hollon & Kendall, 1980). 

Combating ANThills

Being able to catch these ANTs before they crawl all over us is key—catch the thought when it comes! Acknowledge that you are thinking this way, possibly stemming from negative feelings like disappointment, loneliness, and shame, but also realise that this thought process is harmful.

Next, examine it for what it is, and debunk it. Ask yourself: is this negative thought really true? Do you have counterexamples to these negative thoughts? Can we realistically and positively reframe and restructure this? 

For instance, if the ANT were to be: “If I do not pass this interview, I am worthless.” Then, are there other ways in which you can define your ‘worth’? What are other times where you felt a sense of achievement or felt valued? Can this interview alone even holistically determine who you are? Remind yourself of every win you have had before this point—they are proof that this ANT is emotionally-charged backed by little to no evidence.

Often, journaling and writing these ANTs down help us realise that there are logical fallacies in these thoughts we have too.

Our journey towards reversing the effects of ANTs and eradicating its nest is no doubt a long, tedious one. But armed with knowledge, much practice, self-compassion, and spidey-senses to catch those ANTs, we are on our way to a healthier, safer mind!

 

Written By:

Heidi Ng

National University of Singapore

 

References

Arpin-Cribbie, C. A., & Cribbie, R. A. (2007). Psychological correlates of fatigue: Examining depression, perfectionism, and automatic negative thoughts. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(6), 1310–1320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.03.020

Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) and unhelpful thinking styles. (2021, August 26). MindWell. https://www.mindwell-leeds.org.uk/myself/exploring-your-mental-health/anxiety/challenge-negative-thoughts/automatic-negative-thoughts-ants-and-unhelpful-thinking-styles/

Automatic negative thoughts: What they are, causes, and how to overcome them. (2023, April 30). The Human Condition. https://thehumancondition.com/automatic-negative-thoughts/#:~:text=Under

Budak, F. K., Yildirim, T., & Özdemir, A. (2020). The effect of negative automatic thoughts on hope in patients with schizophrenia. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12637

Hollon, S. D., & Kendall, P. C. (1980). Cognitive self-statements in depression: Development of an automatic thoughts questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 4(4), 383–395.

Kapıkıran, Ş. (2012). Achievement goal orientations and self-handicapping as mediator and moderator of the relationship between intrinsic achievement motivation and negative automatic thoughts in adolescent students. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 12(2), 705–711.

Paloș, R., & Vîșcu, L. (2014). Anxiety, automatic negative thoughts, and unconditional self-acceptance in rheumatoid arthritis: A preliminary study. ISRN Rheumatology, 2014, 317259. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/317259

Salamon, M. (2022, November 8). Break free from 3 self-sabotaging ANTs – automatic negative thoughts. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/break-free-from-3-self-sabotaging-ants-automatic-negative-thoughts-202211082847

Shestyuk, A. Y., & Deldin, P. J. (2010). Automatic and strategic representation of the self in major depression: Trait and state abnormalities. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(5), 536–544. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.06091444

Yu, M., Huang, L., Mao, J., DNA, G., & Luo, S. (2020). Childhood maltreatment, automatic negative thoughts, and resilience: The protective roles of culture and genes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(1–2), 349–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520912582