{"id":83,"date":"2012-11-20T07:04:09","date_gmt":"2012-11-20T15:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cbt-examples.com\/mia\/cbt-post-partum-depression-blog\/?p=83"},"modified":"2014-11-22T18:03:29","modified_gmt":"2014-11-23T02:03:29","slug":"catastrophic-thinking-and-postpartum-depression-thought-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cbt-examples.com\/mia\/cbt-post-partum-depression-blog\/catastrophic-thinking-and-postpartum-depression-thought-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Catastrophic Thinking and Postpartum Depression – Thought Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am so used to thinking the worst, that when my therapist suggested I tried doing a Thought Challenge exercise<\/a>, to help me have more balanced thinking, I thought I would never be able to do that. Going through the steps of the Thought Challenge exercise made all the difference.
\nI’ve always had a tendency to think about worst case scenarios, but before giving birth to Emma I could let the catastrophic thinking go. I realize now that before having postpartum depression<\/a> I was coming up with more balanced thoughts to replace my negative thoughts without even being aware I was doing it. I remember thinking things like “What if my baby is born dead?”, but I was able to push that thought out of my mind immediately. I wouldn’t even start feeling the despair and some healthier part of my mind would come to the rescue saying something like “that is extremely unlikely and I have no need to think about it”.
\nI am not sure what happened to my hormones or my perception of life and myself, but since Emma was born I am no longer able to keep my catastrophic thinking under control. Now I start thinking that Emma is not gaining weight because she has an undiagnosed congenital defect or because I am a completely incompetent mother, and there’s no stopping me. By the time I realize how negative my thinking is I am already feeling so depressed and in despair that I can’t get out of the hole.
\nDoing Thought Challenge exercises has helped me practice healthier coping skills. Here’s how I challenged the catastrophic idea that Emma was dying.
\nI started by describing all the reasons I had to believe she was dying:<\/p>\n