A Cause for Concern Doesn't Cause Concern

[DISCLAIMER]

I invite you to consider a psychoeducational lesson on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) which involves how I practice Stoicism regarding a current event. Although you may be tempted to pass by this post, because you don’t care about media stories, I encourage you to stay.

I don’t necessarily like or love current geopolitical events, though I make an attempt to daily practice REBT—which involves facing matters for which I have little appreciation. Thus, for the current blogpost, I’m turning toward the 2026 Iran war about which one source currently states:

A group of senators has called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to answer questions about his execution of military operations against Iran, saying several of his actions violated federal and international laws and weakened norms for protecting civilians. […]

The letter referred to four separate attacks that killed civilians, including a Tomahawk missile strike on an elementary school in Minab that killed 175 people and a Precision Strike Missile attack in Lamerd that killed 21. Both attacks occurred in February [2026], at the beginning of the war.

There remains a contentious debate regarding whether or not noncombatants have been deliberately targeted by the United States (U.S.) and Israel—the two main parties prosecuting the war of aggression on Iran (and elsewhere). Also, one source reflects growing concern by stating:

The Trump administration says the United States has struck 11,000 targets in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli war on the country began. Critics have questioned the accuracy of the Maven system, the artificial intelligence [AI] system used by the military to speed up the process of identifying targets.

The U.S. and Israel have ostensibly targeted civilians through use of AI systems. For the sake of argument, let’s agree that this is a cause (a reason for an action or condition) for concern (a marked state of blended interest or regard usually arising through a personal tie or relationship).

As a taxpaying U.S. citizen, I have an interest (i.e., desire) regarding the personal tie to U.S. government officials using my tax revenue to kill civilians. Now, I ask you, does a cause for concern of this nature actually cause (something that brings about an effect or a result) concern?

No! REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the event itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

When teaching principles of the ABC model, I realize it may be concerning to learn that total Stoic indifference to matters of concern isn’t guaranteed. Then again, other than death, what guarantees are there in life? Thus, it’s worth noting that one REBT source states (page 71):

REBT conceptualizes [distress] as healthy even though it is intense. Other approaches to therapy have as their goal the reduction of the intensity of negative emotions. They take this position because they do not keenly differentiate between healthy negative emotions (distress) and unhealthy negative emotions (disturbance).

Now, REBT keenly distinguishes between healthy distress and unhealthy disturbance. Healthy distress stems from your rational beliefs about a negative activating event [Action], whilst disturbance stems from your irrational beliefs about the same event.

Complete elimination of distress is highly unlikely in an impermanent and uncertain world wherein people conceptually suffer, struggle, and battle with, or merely experience hardship. Still, individuals often make matters worse for themselves by disturbing about such instances.

Imagine that when reading current events about concerning things the Hegseth-led U.S. military has done in Iran I were to erroneously blame the Defense Secretary for my reaction to the news—whether healthily distressed (e.g., frustrated) or unhealthily disturbed (e.g., enraged).

While some people may view this response as justifiable, I disagree! I say this in the interest of personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”), as I comprehend that it’s my unhelpful Beliefs about undesirable Actions which cause unpleasant Consequences.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to upset themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive beliefs, think of the acronym GLAD.

Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

From an A-C view, a Tomahawk missile strike on an elementary school (Action) can cause the death of 175 people (Consequence). Still, from the B-C perspective, a cause for concern doesn’t cause concern. Therefore, I can take personal ownership of my reaction to the missile strike.

For instance, 175 people are killed at a school (Action) and I may Believe, “Hegseth is worthless [G], and I can’t abide actions of the U.S. military [L], which are certainly awful [A], because civilians must never be harmed [D],” as I’d then become unhealthily disturbed (Consequence).

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Becoming unhealthily disturbed isn’t how effective REBT is practiced, nor does it constitute proper use of personal ownership for my reaction to undesirable events. Without altering the Action in any way, I now invite you to consider what rational Beliefs do to a Consequence.

175 people are killed at a school (Action) and I may Believe, “Although I’d prefer for the Hegseth-led U.S. military not to use AI targeting systems—which remove personal ownership of human action, disallowing accountability, it’s an unfortunate fact that civilians perish in war.”

When using this accommodating personal script, I cause myself healthy distress in the form of disappointment (Consequence). Recall that total Stoic indifference to matters of concern isn’t guaranteed. Thus, I’ll settle for healthy distress when my tax dollars are used to kill civilians.

Additionally, REBT uses unconditional acceptance (UA) to relieve self-induced suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance (USA), unconditional other-acceptance (UOA), and unconditional life-acceptance (ULA).

Whereas the ABC model is a scientific approach to wellness, UA serves as a philosophical method for un-disturbing yourself. I view the former as an abortive approach to disturbance and the latter as a preventative method. Of course, not all REBT practitioners use the same style as I.

With my approach to REBT, I incorporate author Stephen Covey’s concepts regarding the circles of control, influence, and concern, as well as an area of no concern. UA maps onto the circle of control (USA), circle of influence (UOA), and circle of concern and area of no concern (ULA).

The circle of control encompasses only oneself, the circle of influence encapsulates elements which may be subject to one’s sway, the circle of concern engrosses most matters one can imagine, and the area of no concern relates to all content which isn’t yet imagined.

From the view of USA and the circle of control, I admit that I have control over only my reaction to war. As well, given the perspective of UOA and the circle of influence, I recognize that people like Hegseth aren’t likely to have their minds changed by me.

As well, considering ULA and the circle of concern—wherein war is situated, I realize that in an inexorably imperfect world I have exceedingly little (if any) control and influence. Ergo, a cause for concern doesn’t cause concern, because one’s perspective is responsible for that!

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

Aslan, M. (2026, March 1). After a sports hall in Iran was bombed, witnesses describe chaos and “continuous screaming”. Drop Site. Retrieved from https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/iran-lamerd-sports-hall-teenage-girls-killed-us-israel-war

Democracy Now! (2026, March 31). The AI war on Iran: Project Maven, a secretive Palantir-run system, helps Pentagon pick bomb targets. Retrieved from https://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/31/project_maven_manson_bloomberg_ai_warfare

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