It’s Not as Bad as You Think – Coping with Upset Feelings

Part of the Hazelden Classics for Clients Collection
Author: A. Jack Hafner, PhD

Excerpt from the Introduction:
“What causes people to become upset? What we tell ourselves! Our thinking about something, not the something itself, upsets us. No situation or person can upset us or make us feel bad.  We are responsible for causing our feelings.

Thus, when we judge or evaluate something in a negative way, we will usually be upset. In contrast, when we judge or evaluate something in a positive way, we will usually feel good. Our first basic point is this: People are not upset by things,  but by their thinking about those things.“