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Comment by perlgeek | Hacker News Reader

> Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a core symptom of a number of common psychological disorders and may be a modifiable process shared by many psychological risk factors that contribute to the development of cognitive impairment.

The core assumption (or insight?) of Cognitive Therapy (and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is that our thoughts shape the way we feel. In this model, repetitive negative thoughts are actually a main cause of depression, not a symptom.

If you're interested in this approach, I'd recommend the works of David Burns, for example his book "Feeling Great" or the Feeling Good Podcast.

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This can surely be corrected with the happiness laser.

Jokes aside, it should be noted that CBT might confuse cause and effect and the goal is to mold the behavior of people into something socially wanted or expected or just learn to live with something that cannot reasonably be changed.

> it should be noted that CBT might confuse cause and effect

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-good/202503/... explicitly discusses the arrow of causality here

> and the goal is to mold the behavior of people into something socially wanted or expected or just learn to live with something that cannot reasonably be changed.

There are lots of crackpot approaches to psychotherapy, but I do believe that most therapists genuinely want to help patients/clients to recover, not just mold them into something socially accepted.

Less clear whether that's true of researchers.

> In this model, repetitive negative thoughts are actually a main cause of depression, not a symptom.

Wouldn‘t it be both? While the repeated negative thoughts are the cause, they‘re also the symptom how it show up and the reason why people seek out a diagnosis

Yes. "not just a symptom" would have been more accurate.

I came here to say: read this book, it's really great.

I think if your depression is very deeply buried, it surely isn't enough to read it, but still it can open up quit some insights regarding the connection of what you think and how you feel. It makes it visible.

There can also be other causes for depression is course.

While studying and testing the exercises described in the book I discovered one other thing I'd like to share: to me it seems, to come out of a reappearing mental dip, you need to be very consistent in your efforts (mental / physical exercises and other habits you try to establish or change, to feel better). Anyone else?

I've had little success with multiple CBT therapists as it's basically "have you tried not feeling bad" with extra steps.

"Things are only as bad as we perceive them to be" leading up to "have you tried reframing that and finding something positive in it", and "have you tried not thinking about that".

If I need dissociation and self-delusion, there are substances that are a far more impactful option.

I'm glad I'm not alone in this. They tried to say it was my " engineer brain" making me miserable.... But as a super autistic adult...the only comfort in this world is objective math and scientific truths.

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