According
to Martin
Seligman, the answer is Yes.
Seligman coined the word of
positive psychology, which
focuses on optimism and
happiness rather than on
textbook neuroses and
perpetual psychological
dysfunction.
Pessimism: look at the worst of every
sitution
 Catastrophizing: ming the worst of a
situaiton
 Blaming: shifting the responsibiltiy for
circumstances to someone other than
yourself
 Perfectionism: imposing above-human
standards on your self

Polarized thinking: where everything is
seen as an extreme
 Should-ing: reprimanding yourself for
things you should have done
 Magnifying: blowing problems out of
proportion
 Awfulizing: putting mental processed into
a shallow, one-track mode



One technique to convert negative
thoughts to neutral thoughts, similar to
Ellis’s RET, is called thought stopping.
Self-fulfilling Prophecy is used to
describe the link between
perception/beliefs and their related
behaviors.

The acceptance of situation we have no
control over is thought to be paramount as
a stress management strategy. Focusing
on the positive is reframing the current
situation. It is an appreciation of the
present moment. Acknowledge the
negative. Learn from it, but don’t dwell on
it. Focus on the positive aspects and build
on them.
 Seaward,
B. L. (2004). Managing Stress:
Principles and Strategies for Health
and Well-Being Sudbury,
Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett
Publishers.