Negative Cognitions: A Review

Negative cognitions are thoughts or beliefs about ourselves that usually appear when we experience disturbing situations. They function like internal phrases that verbalize our discomfort:

• “I am not worthy of love”

• “I am not good enough”

• “I will be abandoned”

• “I am in danger”

• “I am powerless”

• “I am a failure”

These phrases are born from emptiness and are linked to past memories and experiences that often have not been fully processed.

Main categories

Negative cognitions are divided into three major groups:

1. Responsibility: when we carry guilt, reproaches, or the idea that it’s always our fault.

   • Example: “It’s all my fault”, “I should have done better”.

2. Lack of safety: when we feel there is no protection or support, and we live with fear of being hurt or abandoned.

   • Example: “I am not safe”, “I will be abandoned”.

3. Lack of control or power: when we believe we have no ability to influence our life or change what happens to us.

   • Example: “I am powerless”, “I have no control”.

🤔 Why are they important?

These cognitions can be activated at any time and affect many areas of life. Even though they are “from the past”, they are linked to memory networks and resurface when we face similar situations.

👉 The problem is not the situation itself, but the beliefs that feed on unresolved memories and are automatically activated at a deep level.

Where do they come from?

They often come from negative experiences in childhood and adolescence. Experiences such as:

• Being humiliated at school.

• Being compared negatively with peers.

• Receiving harsh criticism or constant reproaches from parents, teachers, or authority figures.

• Direct or indirect bullying.

These experiences leave emotional marks of fear, sadness, or powerlessness that are stored like “frozen scenes” and, when not processed, continue to influence us.

🛠️ What to do?

1. Conscious exploration: identifying which category the negative thought belongs to (responsibility, lack of safety, lack of power).

2. Recognize the trigger: noticing in which situations these beliefs are awakened.

3. Recognize they belong to the past: they do not represent current reality, but old experiences that have not been healed and still carry emotions that influence the present.

🌱 The goal

The goal of working with these cognitions is not simply to “think positively”, but to detect the invisible patterns that limit and harm our lives. Once identified, we can question them, work on them, and replace them with healthier and more empowering beliefs.