I’ve Got an ANT Problem—and It’s Wrecking My Life!
If we don’t learn to kill our ANTs, the landscape of our mental health can be at serious risk. Here’s some helpful advice
By Quentin Steen, Representative
Every year in the spring and summer, I’ve waged an epic battle with ants. This year was no different. I’ve been in a constant fight maintaining my home’s landscape from their slow but steady destruction.
If you’ve seen the animated cartoon movie Antz, you can’t help but root for these little critters in their plight. I was a fan of the movie (and its theme ride at Universal Studios) but not of the actual ants that invade my yard, and may be “coming soon to a yard near you.”
You know the ones. The tiny ones that overwhelm you by their sheer numbers and the destruction they cause to your stone paved walkways seemingly overnight. The same ones that, despite your best efforts of strategically placing traps designed to destroy them, continue to wreak havoc.
The truth is I’ve always had an ANT problem, but not the kind with legs. The ANTs I’m referring to are those of the mental health species.
It might help to explain myself by way of a popular television game show created by Merv Griffin in 1975: Wheel of Fortune. I was watching the show this past spring, as I usually do, and in this episode, the contestant who made it to the final bonus round ran out of time before she could solve the puzzle. It happens a lot.
But what came next caught my attention and illustrated my battle with ANTs. At the sound of the buzzer, exasperated by fumbling her words on a phrase she couldn’t solve—Making a Firm Offer—she knelt on the floor and let out a disturbing noise that mimicked what sounded to me like she was giving birth. I’ve heard that sound a few times. It was hardly fair because she only had four letters, none of which were an F.
When she rose to her feet, she let out a giant disgruntled sigh that surprised host Pat Sajak, prompting him to ask her, “Are you okay?”
“I’m such a big loser,” she responded, “I hope no one is watching this.”
Her comments left Pat, and the audience, visibly uncomfortable as he tried to stickhandle his way through the awkward moment.
Her comments are referred to in the therapeutic world as ANTs, which stands for automatic negative thoughts. We are all susceptible to them from time to time—some more than others—and some of us are held captive by them.
If we don’t learn to kill our ANTs, the landscape of our mental health can be at serious risk.
Dr. Daniel Amen, author of The End on Mental Illness, says that “if our thoughts are excessively harsh or critical, it will have a negative impact on our moods, anxiety levels, and ultimately on our biology.”
If your mental health is suffering from an ANT problem during this pandemic, all is not lost. There is good news. Dr. Amen provides some excellent advice on how we can begin to kill our ANTs.
Write down what you’re thinking whenever you feel mad, sad, nervous, or out of control. Then ask yourself if the thoughts are factually true or whether you are jumping to a conclusion or making an assumption (about yourself or others). Often ANTs are simply interpretations that you cannot prove as true. Can you absolutely know if they’re true? Challenging ANTs helps to take away their power.
With the support of a good therapist, you can get the upper hand on your ANT problem, not only during this pandemic, but for the rest of your life.
In the next Monday Mental Health Moment, we’ll look at the top 10 ANTs that therapists deal with—and how to get them under control.
Quentin Steen is a certified mental health first aid instructor for the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Get your BRAIN right and your MIND will follow!
For a more in-depth look at how to kill your ANTs, I recommend you pick up or download a copy of Dr. Daniel Amen’s book Feel Better and Make It Last. You are worth the investment!
4 Mental Health Resources to Help You During the Pandemic
- Stronger Minds features videos and quick reads from mental health experts, activities to help you gain resilience, and ask-an-expert videos in response to questions.
- WellCan offers free well-being resources to help Canadians develop coping strategies and build resilience to help deal with uncertainty, mental health, and substance abuse concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Wellness Together Canada: Mental Health and Substance Use Support provides free online resources, tools, apps, and connections to trained volunteers and qualified mental health professionals.
- CLAC is also continuing to make available to all members and their families our employment and family assistance program. If you or your loved ones are struggling, please do not hesitate to reach out for help today.