If You’re Negative, Then You Gotta Go
When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness.
For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. That negative outcome is disturbance.
In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to disturb themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive Beliefs, think of the acronym GLAD.
It’s worth noting that the two forms of should, must, and ought-type demands with which people most often self-disturb are associated with use of absolutistic and conditional should beliefs. Generally speaking, these serve as rigid commands used toward oneself, others, and life.
An absolute must narrative is, “You absolutely must do as I say!” A conditional should narrative is, “Either you should do as I say, or you should be punished!” Significantly, in REBT literature, demandingness of this sort is said to function as a primary appraisal mechanism of disturbance.
Global evaluations (i.e., self-downing, other-downing, and life-downing), low frustration tolerance (also known as frustration intolerance), and awfulizing (e.g., terrible, horrible, etc.) function as secondary appraisal mechanisms. Together, GLAD will make you sad or mad, etc.
Noteworthy, with my approach to care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I invite people to consider mental scripts which are rational (in accordance with both logic and reason) – especially regarding events which correlate with strong feelings.
Logic is the interrelation or sequence of facts when seen as inevitable or predictable, and reason is a statement offered in explanation or justification. As such, I often use syllogisms (deductive schemes of formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion).
Importantly, a syllogistic statement, proposition, or belief may be logical while simultaneously unreasonable. In this case, even though the logic consequentially follows (the conclusion is a necessary and inevitable result of previous facts or premises), it’s considered irrational.
While still functioning as prescriptive rather than descriptive, flexible use of recommendatory, preferential, ideal, empirical, moral and ethical, and legal ought beliefs won’t inevitably cause disturbance, as they may align with distress. Thus, rigidity versus flexibility makes a difference.
As well, a rigid form of irrational belief results in self-disturbance (e.g., rage) while a flexible form of rational belief results in self-distress (e.g., righteous indignation). Ergo, what one thinks, feels (i.e., emotions and sensations), and behaves reveals what type of beliefs are being used.
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.
Remarkably, natural forms of distress are tolerable (e.g., mild anxiousness, sorrow, frustration, annoyance, disappointment, etc.). Even though unnatural forms of disturbance are also tolerable (e.g., enragement), my approach to REBT seeks the outcome which is more likely to be endured.
Now, I offer a finer point of understanding in regard to the ABC model. In particular, I invite you to consider use of a hypothetical syllogism.
Form –
If p, then q; if q, then r; therefore, if p, then r.
Example –
Major premise: If I routinely practice REBT, then I’ll likely self-disturb less.
Minor premise: If I’ll likely self-disturb less, then I’ll probably have a better life.
Conclusion: Therefore, if I routinely practice REBT, then I’ll probably have a better life.
Provided that you comprehend how hypothetical syllogisms may impact beliefs, allow me to now offer another example. On his album Sädism (2018), groovy-ass rapper Z-Ro released the song “Good Guy”. Regarding the track, Z-Ro makes use of a global evaluation.
However, rather than a self-downing appraisal (e.g., I’m a bad guy), he uses a self-flattering rating (i.e., stating, “I love it when I get the chance to be a good guy”). From an REBT framing of this matter, the rapper is merely a fallible human being—neither bad nor good; yet imperfect.
This distinction aside, Z-Ro further healthily states on the track, “I don’t want no problem, bro. If you negative, you gotta go. ‘Cause I don’t need that shit, I done grown up! Talk about me, like a dog, I’m like, ‘So what?’ I got way too many blessings. I ain’t got no business stressin’.”
In this instance, the term “gotta” serves as a demandingness derivative. Thus, in Z-Ro’s instance, saying “you gotta go” is akin to flexibly suggesting that “you preferably ought to go.” In “Good Guy”, there’s no indication that Z-Ro regards an absolutistic or unhealthy conditional demand.
Also, although the groovy-ass rapper expresses an overall healthy worldview, he utilizes another global evaluation when positing that someone else may be “negative.” Yet, people aren’t their behavior. Therefore, while an individual may behave negatively, a person isn’t “negative.”
When I argue this REBT perspective, a composite of the clients with whom I work (“client X”) may retort with something like, “Deric, you know what I mean! People can be negative.” However, just as people aren’t their behavior, they aren’t their ideas or beliefs either!
For the sake of argument, suppose that client X is new to REBT and sometimes misinterprets person Y’s ideas, beliefs, or behavior as representing person Y as a whole. Building upon Z-Ro’s cited lyrics, let’s briefly examine what client X believes about person Y.
Form –
If p, then q; if q, then r; therefore, if p, then r.
Example –
If you’re negative (p), then your ideas, beliefs, or behavior is a threat to my mood (q). If your ideas, beliefs, or behavior is a threat to my mood (q), then you gotta go (r). Therefore, if you’re negative (p), then you gotta go (r).
Presuming that client X’s use of “gotta” is flexible, this hypothetical syllogistic belief is still worth challenging! I state this, because people (i.e., being) aren’t their ideas, beliefs, or behavior, so separating person Y from one’s ideas, beliefs, and behavior may better assist client X’s view.
Perhaps you read my argument and unhelpfully determine that I’m being negative. Well, you’ve missed the point of this blogpost! My apparent nitpicking behavior, fueled by my ideas and beliefs, may be negativistic in your view. However, I’m not being negative. Do you understand?
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues 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:
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