Is Your Hood Terrible?

[DISCLAIMER]

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!” Noteworthy, 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.

While still serving 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. Rigidity versus flexibility makes a difference.

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.

Noteworthy, natural forms of distress are tolerable (i.e., 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. There are a number of flexible and inflexible terms related to demandingness which serve as derivatives to “should,” “must,” and “ought” types of self-disturbing philosophies regarding life.

For instance, “In order to understand what I’m saying, you have to pay attention,” “You better not allow your mind to wander,” “You need to listen,” and, “If you want to stop self-disturbing, then you gotta practice REBT.” Perhaps a real-world example may enrich your comprehension.

Before illustrating a demandingness derivative, it may be helpful to add that sometimes mental scripts are accompanied by inferences (the act of passing from one proposition, statement, or judgment considered as true to another whose truth is believed to follow from that of the former).

Notably, the ABC model notes how distorted inferences (misleading conclusions based on illogical and unreasonable beliefs) cause disturbance (i.e., stemming from irrational beliefs) and distress (i.e., stemming from rational beliefs). Now, I submit an example for your review.

On Dime Bag (2018), lyricist Styles P of The LOX released the track “Marie Antoinette” which featured a sample of “Vôo Da Apolo” (1969) by Antonio Adolfo & A Brazuca. On Styles P’s song, he states, “My hood, it get[s] terrible, and the wrong territory leads to a burial.”

For context, regarding the term “hood,” one source states, “Someone who is from an inner city and expresses the essence of urban culture. Not to be confused with ghetto, because a person can be hood but not ghetto at all.” Colloquially, “hood” is short for “neighborhood” in urban settings.

Therefore, Styles P expresses that his neighborhood has a tendency toward being “terrible”—a term recognized in REBT literature as relating to awfulizing. This irrational belief occurs when one unnecessarily perceives something as far worse than it actually is.

Is the lyricist’s hood actually terrible? I haven’t been there, so I can’t say for sure. Nevertheless, I imagine that although Styles P’s surroundings may be rough, uncomfortable, challenging, and so forth, it isn’t likely that his hood is “terrible.”

Even if “the wrong territory leads to a burial,” largely due to unproductive GLAD beliefs held by others which lead to violence, such circumstances are inconvenient and not terrible. Though I can’t speak with authority regarding Styles P’s location, I do know a thing or two about hoods.

The home in which I lived upon being born was in was referred to as North Heights in Bomb City. Thus, I spent my earliest years in an urban hood. Then, in adolescence, I spent a significant amount of time in a different hood wherein I experienced many instances of violence.

In early adulthood, I visited a number of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Those were hoods! As well, even though I purchased my home in a gated community over a decade ago, the area has since received many urban residents from the East Austin area that was subject to gentrification.

Therefore, from the hood I came, and in the hood I once again dwell. Nonetheless, not a single hood in which I’ve ever been warrants the term “terrible”—not even the favelas. Is your hood terrible? I don’t know, though I doubt it. It’s more likely tolerable, though not actually terrible.

Noteworthy, a distorted inference is used by Styles P on “Marie Antoinette” when stating “my hood, it get[s] terrible, and the wrong territory leads to a burial,” as this infers that a hood absolutely mustn’t be terrible, and that one conditionally must be killed regarding the demand.

These are rigid forms of demandingness which are as unhelpful as the unproductive awfulizing term used by the lyricist. Now, I invite you to consider the terms you use which stem from the beliefs you maintain. Is your hood terrible, and must it be some other way? I doubt it!

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

Photo credit, Designed by Freepik, fair use

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