CORE BELIEFS AND OUR WELL-BEING

 

                                                  CORE BELIEFS AND OUR WELL-BEING

    The centerpiece of a healthy personality is Positive self-esteem. It is an essential ingredient for well-being. The fundamental building blocks of self-esteem are your core beliefs. These are your basic assumptions about your value in the world. Core beliefs determine to what degree you view yourself  as competent, powerful, loved, autonomous and loved. They give foundation to your sense of belonging and basic picture of how you are treated by others.

    Negative core beliefs formulate the rules one uses daily that say, 'Because I am stupid, timid and shy, I should not talk in meetings," or " I can never drive a stick-shift because i am so incompetent." Positive core beliefs affirm one has the ability to master algebra because one is smart and capable of learning and handle environmental pressures.

    An individual's inner monologue is profoundly affected by an individuals own core beliefs. The inner monologue within ourselves , serves to strengthen and reinforce the core beliefs. When one constantly tells oneself that " you are stupid", you convince yourself that this is true. By the same token, if your self-statements reflect a basic faith in your intelligence, this core belief will be confirmed and solidified. 

    Core beliefs provides foundation to your self-esteem. It largely dictates what one can and cannot do(expressed as your rules), and how one interprets events in the external world (expressed as your inner monologue).

    Core beliefs are frequently distorted and consolidated into memories by early trauma, deprivations, neglect and abuse. In response to hurt or rejection, one might make an image of him or herself as unworthy or flawed. Since, no one mirrored back the value, one simply fails to see the realistic side.

    Changing your core beliefs requires time and efforts; and yet changing them will fundamentally alter the view of yourself and the environment. Drifting and shifting core beliefs in a more realistic direction is like replacing a funhouse mirror with a non distorting one. Instead of seeing yourself as  three-foot geek, one can see themselves as normal and properly proportioned.

    Help for identifying, testing, and modifying negative core beliefs can be found in the works of Aaron Beck, Jeffery Young, Mathew McKay, Patrick Fanning.

 

    To heighten your awareness of your core beliefs, one needs to start keeping a monologue diary. This kind of diary enables the individual an opportunity to record inner monologues-your self statements- at times when you're feeling upset, angry depressed, guilty, and so on. Initially, this may not be easy  and can be very difficult to catch oneself in it but for sure it will enable you to uncover your core beliefs by identifying situations in which your self-esteem was particularly low( you felt boring, worthless, bad, a failure, deeply flawed, and so on). Try to carry this diary around with you so that you can record these situations, thoughts, and feelings as close as possible to the time they occur, when every thing is still fresh in your mind. 

Example

MONOLGUE DIARY OF JOHN-

Starting Date: Friday, OCT 4

1)Situation:- Talks with boss, about the business deal                                  

2)  Self statements:-  He knows i messed up, I'll never get raise, i am dumb jerk, I don't have brain                                        

3)Feeling :- Defeated and Angry

 Once you start recording your self-talk or negative thoughts, you can analyze to uncover your core beliefs and enable you to identify the situations that makes you get entangled in negative triad. You can do it by using the techniques of Laddering and Theme analysis. 

Laddering reveals core beliefs through questioning statements in your monologue diary. The questions provide a way to search systematically for the beliefs that underpin your self-statements. To use Laddering technique, first select a statement from your inner  monologue(e.g. A dumb jerk)

What if I am a jerk

What does that mean to me?

So on.................... Like the rungs of a ladder, this process of repetition will lead you downward into the depths of core beliefs underlying each self-statement..

The other technique for revealing core beliefs is Theme Analysis. This process involves searching for theme that repeats itself during many of the problematic situations. John saw incompetence, dumb jerk in many other situations as he kept the record. 

Now challenge and test those beliefs. 

1) Identify one relatively low-risk situation for making your initial test 

2)Begin a prediction log:- Write a specific behavioral prediction of the catastrophic outcome for breaking rule 

3) Create a script for your new behavior

4)Test your new behavior and collect data 

5)Make evidence log 

Strengthen your new core and reframed beliefs by testing it rules and record your outcomes in your evidence log. Persist in the confirmation of your new rules; but initially set safe parameters around situations. For example, test your new rules/ beliefs with co-operation of supportive network of friends and family, in low risk environments, or in places and situations in which you feel safe. Later as your confidence and self-esteem grows stronger, one can widen the parameters of the beliefs/  Tests or rules to include less safe or supportive arenas for action.

Identifying and becoming aware of negative core beliefs is first step towards challenging them and eventually testing and modifying negative core beliefs. If one is in crisis, has lack of motivation, a victim of child abuse, seek the guidance of mental health professional  for assistance and help to implement techniques to treat and heal.