Socratic Questioning

Socratic Questioning is one of the techniques we can use to challenge our cognitive distortions. Just as Socrates taught his students through a series of questions, we can also train our thoughts by employing his questioning method.

Think of a thought that you recognize needs to be questioned because it is distorted somehow. Example (because this is what I thought last night): I am a failure.

Spend a few moments thinking about each of the questions in the worksheet. Rather than rushing through all of them, perhaps only choose 5 or 6 of them to really spend time on and answer thoroughly.

Question 1: What is the evidence for this thought? I am a failure because I cannot keep a job. I am no longer a capable, competent professional. There are many things I can no longer do because my body won’t let me. I am a failure because I have not succeeded in making a positive difference in the world around me.

Question 2: Am I basing this thought on facts or feelings? This is tricky right? It seems to be that my reasoning is based on a little bit of both. Me not being able to hold a job is a fact. Me recognizing that my Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome prevents me from doing the things I love (like dancing) is a fact. However, it is undeniable that some of what I said represents feelings rather than facts. I FEEL like I am no longer a capable, competent person. I FEEL like I haven’t made a positive difference in the world.

Question 3: Might other people have different interpretations of the same situation? Absolutely. Other people might point to the fact that I have held many jobs instead of the fact that I can’t “keep” any. Someone else might recognize that I have made a positive difference in their life and remind me of how I’ve affected them.

Question 4: Am I looking at all the evidence or just what supports my thoughts? I do tend to just focus on what supports my own thoughts, unless I am intentionally trying to look at all sides of an argument or engaging in an activity like filling out this worksheet. It is SO EASY to ignore all the other evidence out there that does NOT support my own thoughts.

Question 5: Could I be misinterpreting the evidence? Obviously. What one person defines as failure, another person registers as success. My definitions of failure are undoubtedly based on my religious upbringing and American culture which I grew up in. Both of which claim that success is having a good job, owning a nice house and car, having a big enough 401k, raising children, being recognized for one’s accomplishments, etc. And failure is the natural antithesis of this. But that does not necessarily mean they are the right definitions. Or the only definitions. How am I choosing to define failure? More importantly, how does that definition align with my values?