Core Beliefs and Their Role in Shaping Our Lives

Here we've reached the deepest level of beliefs.

Core beliefs underpin our thinking stereotypes (intermediate beliefs), which in turn form numerous automatic thoughts.

If the previous levels of the belief tree were numerous and diverse, core beliefs are different.

A. Beck, the founder of CBT, claimed that negative core beliefs are divided into two categories: those related to helplessness and those related to unacceptability.

Some people may have core beliefs from only one category, while others have core beliefs from both categories.

The names of the categories might seem non-obvious, but we'll provide some examples to make everything clear.

Core beliefs of the helplessness category:

I am incapable of anything

I am a failure

There's something wrong with me

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Core beliefs of the unacceptability category:

I am unloved

I am not good enough

I am destined to be abandoned

It's important to note that negative core beliefs can exist not only about oneself but also about others and the world as a whole:

No one can be trusted

All men will cheat on me

Note that although we've drawn a clear line between the two categories of beliefs, in reality, they often intermingle.

For example, the formulation of a core belief may even appear in automatic thoughts.

The main difference between the categories is how broadly they affect the spheres of our life.

To understand this, let's consider the following example:

Intermediate Belief

My friends pretend to be interested in me, I'm boring

Automatic Thought

I didn't get an invitation to a friend's birthday. It means I'm truly unloved and unappreciated

Previously, we considered the thought process in reverse order — from the automatic thought. But here, we want to emphasize that the root of negative perception lies in the core belief.

As seen in the above example, the core belief is the most vague; it lacks specificity and can cover almost all life spheres.

Moving towards automatic thoughts, we begin to pay more attention to the specific situation.

At this point, the temptation might arise to directly address core beliefs, bypassing the analysis of automatic thoughts.

It seems like one should immediately eradicate the problem from below. But this is a misconception.