The Importance of Core Beliefs
Core beliefs shapes the way we see ourselves, see others and the world. They are often instilled in us through explicit learning from caregivers or teachers or implicitly from our experiences. When we see patterns of behaviours or emotional reactions that repeat over time, we can often drill down to a set of fundamental core beliefs.
A technique in therapy called the downward arrow, asks the same question two to three times until you get to the core belief. "If that thought is true, then what does that say about you?” For example, “I should have fought back”. "If that thought is true, then what does that say about you?” “I should have defended myself”. “If that were true, what does that say about you?” “I am helpless”. If an individual were to walk around in life with the belief “I am helpless” perhaps you would notice the person expressing fear of being hurt, a lack of confidence to do things for themselves, worry about the future, doesn’t like change, catastrophises about many things, may cling to others to protect them or make important decisions for them…etc. Symptoms such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, poor sleep, rumination (overthinking), restlessness, etc can result from these beliefs.
Many people can relate when they say “I know in my head I am good enough but I still get worried that I’m not. I feel like an imposter at work. I think my friends will leave me. When I achieve a goal or get compliments I think that it was just luck or people don’t really think I’m that good at my job.”
If we can work with the core beliefs and change them from “I am helpless” to “I can protect myself” we can expect fundamental trait changes to occur. Our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and how we feel in our body will move from a place of fear and worry to a place of feeling resourced and confident in our own abilities.
But how do we do that? There are many forms of experiential therapy that work at these deeper levels but it requires some courage and motivation and an openness for change. To make lasting changes, we all need to look underneath the surface and work through these core beliefs that drive our behaviours and choices. EMDR is just one type of therapy that can help people change how they live their lives.
