From Managing Depression Using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy(2004) 
Negative or Unhelpful Beliefs:
Demands – Check to see if your thoughts contain the words “must,” “should,” or “ought”. For example, you might think, “I must be able to do all of my errands today!” or, you might think “Life should be fair.”
Awfulizing/Catastrophizing – Check to see if your thoughts involve words like “awful,” “horrible,” or “terrible.” For example, you might think, “I had to take two naps today, and that’s AWFUL! I’m usually active all day long.”
Frustration Intolerance – Check to see if your thoughts include “I can’t stand this!” or the word “unbearable.” For example, you might think, “I can’t stand being depressed like this!”
Self-Downing – Check to see if you’re calling yourself names, being too critical of yourself, or beating up on yourself. Also, check to see if you’re basing your self-worth on one or two minor things. For example, you might think, “I was too depressed to make dinner for my kids today. I’m an insensitive mother and a terrible person.”
Other-Downing – Check to see if you’re being too critical of or beating up on others, or basing your entire judgment of them on one or two minor things. For example, you might think, “My husband isn’t very good at talking with me about my depression. He’s totally insensitive and useless.”
Life-Downing – Check to see if you’re judging all of your life as bad, just because it’s not perfect. For example, you might think “Life is worthless because I feel so worn out.”
Healthier beliefs may sound like one of the following:
Preferences – These are a healthier, more rational alternative to demands. Preferences are when you wish for something, or want it very badly, but do not demand that it must be so. For example, you might think, “I really wish I had the energy I used to have,” instead of saying, “I MUST feel exactly the way I did before I got depressed.”
Anti-Awfulizing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to awfulizing. This is when you can recognize that a situation is very bad, without thinking it is 100% AWFUL. For example, you might think, “Being too tired to go to work 5 days a week is really bad, but at least I know this won’t last forever, and staying at home does give me more time to catch up with my friends,” instead of thinking “Feeling this tired is AWFUL!”
High Frustration Tolerance – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to frustration intolerance. This is when you realize that even though you may find a situation very difficult, you can stand it. For example, you might think, “I hate feeling so depressed, but I’ll just keep finding new ways to cope with it, and I’ll keep going!” instead of thinking “I can’t stand feeling so depressed! It’s unbearable!”
Anti-Self-Downing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to self-downing. This is when you are able to accept yourself and approve of yourself, even when you’re not perfect. So for example, you might think, “Ok, I’m not handling the depressed mood as well as I would like. I’m usually such a strong person, and now I find myself often nervous. But I recognize that I’m still a good, worthwhile person, even if I’m not as strong as I thought.” This thought is a more rational, positive alternative than calling yourself names like, “I’m a weak, terrible person.”
Anti-Other-Downing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to other-downing. This is when you’re able to accept others, regardless of mistakes they might have made, or things they might have done to upset you. For example, you might think, “I’m pretty upset at my husband for not listening to me. But I recognize he’s still generally a great guy, who does lots of great things. He picks up the kids from day care, he takes them to the doctor, and he takes care of the house.” This is an alternative to thinking “He’s not a good listener, and that makes him a horrible person.”
Anti-Life-Downing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to life-downing. This is when you’re able to be accepting of how your life is, even when it is not exactly as you would like it to be. For example, you might think, “This isn’t how I planned for my life to be, but I recognize that life is a mixed bag, full of good as well as bad events,” instead of thinking “Life is meaningless and useless now that I have depression.”
---------- Post added at 10:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 PM ----------
From a related post:
Negative or Unhelpful Beliefs:
Demands – Check to see if your thoughts contain the words “must,” “should,” or “ought”. For example, you might think, “I must be able to do all of my errands today!” or, you might think “Life should be fair.”
Awfulizing/Catastrophizing – Check to see if your thoughts involve words like “awful,” “horrible,” or “terrible.” For example, you might think, “I had to take two naps today, and that’s AWFUL! I’m usually active all day long.”
Frustration Intolerance – Check to see if your thoughts include “I can’t stand this!” or the word “unbearable.” For example, you might think, “I can’t stand being depressed like this!”
Self-Downing – Check to see if you’re calling yourself names, being too critical of yourself, or beating up on yourself. Also, check to see if you’re basing your self-worth on one or two minor things. For example, you might think, “I was too depressed to make dinner for my kids today. I’m an insensitive mother and a terrible person.”
Other-Downing – Check to see if you’re being too critical of or beating up on others, or basing your entire judgment of them on one or two minor things. For example, you might think, “My husband isn’t very good at talking with me about my depression. He’s totally insensitive and useless.”
Life-Downing – Check to see if you’re judging all of your life as bad, just because it’s not perfect. For example, you might think “Life is worthless because I feel so worn out.”
Healthier beliefs may sound like one of the following:
Preferences – These are a healthier, more rational alternative to demands. Preferences are when you wish for something, or want it very badly, but do not demand that it must be so. For example, you might think, “I really wish I had the energy I used to have,” instead of saying, “I MUST feel exactly the way I did before I got depressed.”
Anti-Awfulizing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to awfulizing. This is when you can recognize that a situation is very bad, without thinking it is 100% AWFUL. For example, you might think, “Being too tired to go to work 5 days a week is really bad, but at least I know this won’t last forever, and staying at home does give me more time to catch up with my friends,” instead of thinking “Feeling this tired is AWFUL!”
High Frustration Tolerance – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to frustration intolerance. This is when you realize that even though you may find a situation very difficult, you can stand it. For example, you might think, “I hate feeling so depressed, but I’ll just keep finding new ways to cope with it, and I’ll keep going!” instead of thinking “I can’t stand feeling so depressed! It’s unbearable!”
Anti-Self-Downing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to self-downing. This is when you are able to accept yourself and approve of yourself, even when you’re not perfect. So for example, you might think, “Ok, I’m not handling the depressed mood as well as I would like. I’m usually such a strong person, and now I find myself often nervous. But I recognize that I’m still a good, worthwhile person, even if I’m not as strong as I thought.” This thought is a more rational, positive alternative than calling yourself names like, “I’m a weak, terrible person.”
Anti-Other-Downing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to other-downing. This is when you’re able to accept others, regardless of mistakes they might have made, or things they might have done to upset you. For example, you might think, “I’m pretty upset at my husband for not listening to me. But I recognize he’s still generally a great guy, who does lots of great things. He picks up the kids from day care, he takes them to the doctor, and he takes care of the house.” This is an alternative to thinking “He’s not a good listener, and that makes him a horrible person.”
Anti-Life-Downing – This is a healthier, more rational alternative to life-downing. This is when you’re able to be accepting of how your life is, even when it is not exactly as you would like it to be. For example, you might think, “This isn’t how I planned for my life to be, but I recognize that life is a mixed bag, full of good as well as bad events,” instead of thinking “Life is meaningless and useless now that I have depression.”
---------- Post added at 10:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 PM ----------
From a related post:
