12 Irrational Beliefs

Albert Ellis identified 12 irrational ideas that are common in many peoples thoughts. These have been gathered via Ellis' research on rational-emotive therapy (RET) which is a type of cognitive therapy. It deconstructs the way that people interpret the world around them and the assumptions (often maladaptive) that they make. The therapist will then help the patient see that their beliefs are irrational by challenging them. This type of therapy is what cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is derived from. Obviously, these 12 types of thoughts can be experienced by everyone, but the textbook stresses that when there is a heavy reliance on these beliefs it can be problematic. RET therapy is used to treat a variety of different psychological problems. Here are the ideas:

1. The idea that you must, yes, must have sincere love and approval almost all the time from all the people you find significant.

2. The idea that you must prove yourself thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving; or that you must at least have real competence or talent at something important.

3. The idea that people who harm you or commit misdeeds rate as generally bad, wicked, or villainous individuals, and that you should severely blame, damn, and punish them for their sins.

4. The idea that life proves awful, terrible, horrible, or catastrophic when things do not go the way you would like them to go.

5. The idea that emotional misery comes from external pressures and that you have little ability to control your feelings or rid yourself of depression and hostility.

6. The idea that if something seems dangerous or fearsome, you must become terribly occupied with and upset about it.

7. The idea that you will find it easier to avoid facing many of life's difficulties and self-responsibilities than to undertake some rewarding forms of self-discipline.

8. The idea that your past remains all-important and that, because something once strongly influenced your life, it has to keep determining your feelings and behaviour today.

9. The idea that people and things should turn out better than they do; and that you have to view it as awful and horrible if you do not quickly find good solutions to life's hassles.

10. The idea that you can achieve happiness by inertia and inaction or by passively and uncommittedly "enjoying yourself."

11. The idea that you must have a high degree of order or certainty to feel comfortable; or that you need some supernatural power on which to rely.

12. The idea that you give yourself a global rating as a human and that your general worth and self-acceptance depend upon the goodness or your performance and the degree that people approve of you.