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The ABC Model

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Hey, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In this session, we're going to discuss a cognitive reframing tool based in the practice of cognitive behavioral therapy that integrates nicely with the practice of mindfulness. It's called the ABC model. ABC is an acronym and it stands for activating event, A, belief, B and consequence, C. A B C, and these three things work in sequence.

We experience an activating event, which can be anything, but let's just say it's something painful, like a relationship breakup. We then have a belief about that event. Perhaps, of course, this would happen. I'm not lovable. And then that belief creates a consequence which could be sadness, isolating ourselves, or spending a week on the couch, eating potato chips.

Not that I've ever done that or anything. This motto can be applied to nearly any event in your life, bad or good. Something happens, we have a belief about what that means and that belief will condition a follow-up thought, an emotion or a behavior. What's key about this model is that we can't do much about the activating events. These are mostly out of our control and we can't do much about the consequence.

But what we can do is work with the belief about the activating event, which then changes the consequence. So as you go about your day, see if you can notice this ABC sequence arising for you. And if certain activating events are creating a consequence that's causing you more suffering, you can practice working with the belief, which may include noticing it with mindful awareness, not taking it so seriously, and then asking what might a different belief be and see how that impacts how you feel about yourself and the event. As always, thank you for your practice. I'll talk to you in the meditation.

Take care.

Cory Muscara

4.6

The ABC Model

Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:

Duration

Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.

Hey, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In this session, we're going to discuss a cognitive reframing tool based in the practice of cognitive behavioral therapy that integrates nicely with the practice of mindfulness. It's called the ABC model. ABC is an acronym and it stands for activating event, A, belief, B and consequence, C. A B C, and these three things work in sequence.

We experience an activating event, which can be anything, but let's just say it's something painful, like a relationship breakup. We then have a belief about that event. Perhaps, of course, this would happen. I'm not lovable. And then that belief creates a consequence which could be sadness, isolating ourselves, or spending a week on the couch, eating potato chips.

Not that I've ever done that or anything. This motto can be applied to nearly any event in your life, bad or good. Something happens, we have a belief about what that means and that belief will condition a follow-up thought, an emotion or a behavior. What's key about this model is that we can't do much about the activating events. These are mostly out of our control and we can't do much about the consequence.

But what we can do is work with the belief about the activating event, which then changes the consequence. So as you go about your day, see if you can notice this ABC sequence arising for you. And if certain activating events are creating a consequence that's causing you more suffering, you can practice working with the belief, which may include noticing it with mindful awareness, not taking it so seriously, and then asking what might a different belief be and see how that impacts how you feel about yourself and the event. As always, thank you for your practice. I'll talk to you in the meditation.

Take care.

Cory Muscara

4.6

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