ory of emotions, based on the seminal work of Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Aaron Beck, your beliefs (driven by your appraisal process) strongly influence your subsequent mood state. If you believe that you have the ability and resources to handle the stressors you are faced with, your mood will be generally positive, and vice versa, if you believe that you do not have what it takes to meet the demands you are faced with, your mood will turn negative and sour, possibly causing you to become anxious or depressed.
That your thoughts determine your mood is a good thing, because while it is difficult to alter your feelings at any given moment, it is always possible to re-evaluate and change your thoughts. If you can find a way to see your situation in a more positive light, you can alter your mood from negative to positive. This insight has been incorporated into a therapeutic technique called Cognitive Reframing, which we will elaborate upon in greater detail later in this document.
As preparation for our later discussion of Cognitive Reframing, we can talk now about an easy way to visualize the process of how thoughts and beliefs that result from the appraisal process end up causing feelings to change. According to Dr. Ellis, the relationship between thoughts and emotion can be represented by the simple equation A+B=C.
In this equation, the letter "A" stands for an "Activating Event." Activating Events are the triggers or stressors that create demands on us and therefore cause us potential stress. As previously mentioned, there are different types of stressors, including life events and daily hassles.
The letter "B" in the equation stands for "Beliefs." We come into the world with no preconceived beliefs or opinions. From the moment we start interacting with the environment, we start to learn the opinions of our parents, our peers, schools, etc, and also start forming opinions of our own. All of these opinions eventually become internalized into a consistent (but often biased) world view which we use as a measuring stick against which to interpret and appraise ourselves, other people, and the world around us. The degree of bias and rigidity in our belief system is important, because, as a general rule, the more biased and rigid our beliefs are, the more often we will find ourselves becoming stressed out. Beliefs which are accurate, flexible and optimistic in nature help to reduce stress, while beliefs which are rigid, negative, inflexible and pessimistic tend to exacerbate stress.
The final letter "C" in the A+B=C equation stands for "Consequences." Consequences refer to the feelings that occur as a result of our beliefs and self-talk in response to the activating event. The consequences we experience can include stress, anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, aggression, frustration, etc.
Here is a "real-life" example of the A + B = C equation applied to a stressful situation:
There are two people stuck in traffic. One driver starts thinking that, while the slow traffic is a bummer, it's not the end of the world. She also realizes that there is no point in "freaking out" since that won't make the cars move any faster. Instead, she uses the extra time to pull out her cell phone and chat with her sister and then to listen to the radio. She calmly waits until the traffic starts moving again and continues on her way.
The other driver reacts very differently to the slow traffic. She punches the steering wheel, and sits and fumes, thinking that the traffic jam is totally awful and has ruined the whole day. She becomes increasingly agitated as the traffic jam continues.
In this example, the same stressor (the traffic jam) produces two entirely different outcomes. The first driver comes away from the situation none the worse for wear, while the second driver experiences significant negative stress, which is particularly upsetting because she cannot react in a physical way (e.g., by fighting or fleeing) to relieve her tension.
It can be useful to break down an event such as the example above using the A+B=C equation. In this example,