We use mental models to create simulations of different scenarios and infer possibilities and probable outcomes that we could expect in any given situation.Each mental model represents a possible outcome.When you filter information through a particular mental model, the mind will arrive at a possible outcome based on the information at hand and past experience.Mental models are predictive in nature.This is why they give us better clarity in decision making.By enabling us to foresee the possible outcome of a particular choice or action, they equip us to make choices with the full knowledge of what consequences we can expect.Mental models give an indication of what to expect in the future through mental simulations using different scenarios.Core beliefs are often formed in childhood and reinforced throughout life.They can also form during traumatic events in adulthood, such as the death of a loved one, fighting in a war, or being the victim of a violent crime.We tend to accept evidence that supports our beliefs and reject evidence that does not, so we may hold our core beliefs strongly even if there is little evidence for them.We often support dysfunctional core beliefs by focusing on one or two areas of our lives that aren’t going well, rather than looking at our lives overall.However, with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you can challenge and change dysfunctional core beliefs.It’s important to remember that core beliefs are ideas, not facts.How strongly you feel something is not an indicator of how true it is.In identifying your beliefs, you will have to do some digging within yourself.Some people have a hard time understanding how their thought processes connect to negative emotions, so it may be helpful to start by identifying automatic thoughts and assumptions before uncovering core beliefs.Some people may also find it painful to explore their core beliefs, so it may be better to start by addressing automatic thoughts.Automatic thoughts are those that come into our minds quickly, without effort.They are short and related to the specific situation at hand.They occur during or right after the situation, as an instinctive response.They don’t include reflection or careful logic but usually seem quite reasonable.Or, if you feel that the issue underlying that particular automatic thought is not as important as other issues, you can set it aside and focus on other thoughts that had a stronger impact on your mood.When evaluating a series of automatic thoughts, assess how intense the feelings they stimulated were, and choose the thoughts that had the biggest impact.Often, these types of dysfunctional thoughts result from cognitive distortions, or thought traps, which are essentially mistakes we make in the thinking process.Automatic thoughts tend to fall into a few categories of cognitive distortions.Identifying the general patterns can be helpful in changing the thoughts that are a part of that pattern.It may be helpful to write down some of your automatic thoughts and then look for patterns.What Are Intrusive Thoughts?Intrusive thoughts are another type of common but upsetting thought.Our brains generate many thoughts and ideas over the course of a day.Some feel completely normal, productive, and helpful, and we view them as reflective of who we are.Some thoughts may strike us as odd or confusing but are easily dismissed and don’t cause much distress.These are known as intrusive thoughts.Intrusive thoughts are thoughts, ideas, or impulses that are unwanted and upsetting but continue to occur.They are difficult to stop or control, which often makes them more distressing.They may interrupt activities and thought processes and cause feelings of doubt, shame, guilt, confusion, fear, and anxiety.There are several types of intrusive thoughts, which may be treated in different ways.Worry intrusions are anxious thoughts about future events or threats.Addressing the feelings around these events with a therapist may help.Many people are surprised to realize that others have experienced similar types of intrusive thoughts.Knowing this can be reassuring and can help you reach a better understanding of intrusive thoughts as a common phenomenon, not a uniquely personal illness or failing.Almost everyone has intrusive thoughts, but people respond to them in different ways.The key difference between people who do not struggle with their intrusive thoughts and those who do is not that the former do not have them, though they may experience them less frequently or intensely, but that they are able to dismiss upsetting, unwanted thoughts as meaningless.Those who struggle with obsessive thoughts tend to attach great significance to the thoughts and conclude that they really do believe or feel those things or really will commit those acts.They begin to build a narrative around the thoughts, with implications about their own character, behavior, and future actions.The most important thing to understand about intrusive thoughts is that just having a certain thought or image does not mean it is true.If you are religious, having a distressing blasphemous thought doesn’t mean you truly believe it.He reminds his patients that they are not mentally ill. Instead, they simply have an anxiety disorder.He also prefers to call intrusive thoughts creative associations. This attitude encourages patients to embrace their experience of these common, if sometimes disturbing, thoughts.Are you doomed to being subjected to your daily ration of emotional energy?You can learn to adapt to and work around emotions once you have a full understanding of what they are, where they come from, and how much control you can exercise.What Causes an Emotional Response?Positive emotions tend to tie in to already held memories of happiness, bliss, acceptance, and affection for others.As social creatures, humans are driven hard by emotions and emotional responses to outside stimuli.Although many people define themselves as loners or solitary personalities, they are just as socially dependent on feeling confirmation and acceptance as anyone else.It is a part of our human nature.