Disputing Beliefs
An “unhelpful belief” is a thought that does this to your progress.
A: What is makes things harder?
In the ABC model, A stands for this.
A: What is an Activating event?
The immediate good feeling from a harmful behavior is this type of benefit.
What is a short-term benefit?
These guiding principles help you decide what really matters.
A: What are values?
Giving your craving a name, like “The Lobbyist,” is called this.
What is personifying the urge?
The helpful belief that replaces “I can’t do this” is this.
A: What is “I can try, and it will get easier”?
In the ABC model, if A is “I lost my job,” what could B be?
A: What is “I’ll never succeed again” (or another irrational belief)?
The health damage from that same behavior years later is this.
A: What is a long-term cost?
If someone values honesty but lies, what happens?
What is a values conflict?
In DEADS, “E” stands for this.
What is Escape?
The process of questioning a thought and replacing it with a more reasonable one is called this.
A: What is disputing beliefs?
C stands for this.
A: What is the Consequence (feelings and behavior)?
This tool helps you weigh short- and long-term outcomes.
What is a cost-benefit analysis?
This difference makes values ongoing, while goals are temporary.
What is values guide life, goals are specific targets?
In DEADS, this means replacing the thought with a healthy activity.
A: What is Substitute?
This type of thinking makes situations feel worse than they are.
What is catastrophic or irrational thinking?(other ANTS)
The step where you ask questions like, “Is this always true?” is this.
A: What is Disputing (step D)?
Why do people often sacrifice long-term health for short-term relief?
Because our brains prioritize instant rewards (instant gratification).
Give one example of a value and two actions that support it.
Open-ended (e.g., Health → exercise, eat well).
Why does delaying an urge often weaken it?
Because urges rise and fade over time, and waiting shows they don’t control you.
Why is it important to dispute unhelpful beliefs instead of ignoring them?
A: What is because ignoring doesn’t change the thought, but disputing rewires how you think?
E stands for this, the new healthier mindset.
A: What is an Effective new belief or change?
Create an example where the short-term benefit feels strong, but the long-term cost is devastating.
Open-ended (e.g., overspending feels fun now but leads to long-term debt).
Explain how clarifying your values protects against relapse.
It gives direction and motivation, helping choices align with what matters most.
Create your own DEADS plan with one strategy for each letter.
A: Open-ended (D = wait 10 minutes, E = leave a risky place, A = remind yourself “I am stronger,” D = play guitar, S = go for a run).