THE A-B-C MODEL
A = the situation or event
leads to
B = our thoughts, beliefs and expectations about the situation
and produces
C = our emotions, feelings and behaviour
| A : The Situation or event | B : Thoughts, Beliefs | C : Emotional Consequences |
| The experience of having tinnitus | Why me? Why do I have to suffer these noises? | Frustration, despair |
| The experience of having tinnitus | This noise is not pleasant but I can manage it | Hopefulness, Acceptance |
| The experience of having tinnitus | The noise might be a nuisance, but there are so many other things I can enjoy. | Optimism, Comfort |
Thinking in a Logical Manner
1 Acknowledge the impact of your thoughts upon your feelings, emotions and behaviour
2 Deliberately tune in and listen to what you are saying or thinking to yourself
3 Identify positive, logical and realistic thoughts and neutral thoughts. These are the “safe”
thoughts, which will have positive or neutral effects on your subsequent feelings.
Identify negative, unrealistic and unhelpful thoughts – these will have negative effects on your
feelings. These represent “dangerous” thoughts.
Attach a “green flashing light” to positive and neutral thoughts and a “red flashing light” to
negative thoughts.
4 Interrupt and stop negative thoughts. By doing this, you can avoid allowing your thoughts to
operate like a stuck record going on and on.
5 Challenge the truth and validity of your thoughts – do not blindly accept unrealistic and unhelpful
thoughts as true
6 Substitute positive, realistic and logical thoughts for every identified unrealistic and unhelpful
thought
Examples of Illogical Thinking
“Why me? Why do I have to suffer these noises?” The underlying illogical thought might be “Bad things shouldn’t happen to me”
“Come on traffic, get moving” The underlying illogical thought might be “I’m in a hurry – I shouldn’t have to be held up by a red light”
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