We all have a few ANTs from time to time. That’s normal. However, if you have an infestation of these pesky thoughts inside your head, it could be a sign of mental health problems.

Too many automatic negative thoughts means it’s time to do something about your mental hygiene. You need to disinfect your thoughts and kill the ANTs to overcome anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), trauma, and grief.

WHAT ARE ANTs?

ANTs are the unwanted, unhelpful automatic negative thoughts that get stuck in your mind. Daniel Amen, MD, coined the term ANTs in the early 1990s after a hard day at the office, where he had seen 4 suicidal patients, 2 teens who had run away from home, and 2 couples who hated each other.

That evening, when he arrived home and walked into the kitchen, he was greeted by an ant infestation. There were thousands of the pesky invaders, marching in lines on the floor, crawling in the sink, on the countertops, and in the cabinets.

As Dr. Amen wetted paper towels and began wiping up the hoard of ants, the acronym ANT came to him—Automatic Negative Thoughts.

As he thought about his patients that day, he realized that just like his kitchen, they were also infested with ANTs that were robbing them of their joy and keeping them stuck in hurts from the past.

WHY ARE ANTs SO HARMFUL?

Negative thoughts cause your brain to immediately release chemicals that affect every cell in your body, making you feel bad. The opposite is also true—positive, happy, hopeful thoughts release chemicals that make you feel good.

Your thought patterns can also have long-term effects. Repetitive negative thinking may promote the buildup of the harmful deposits seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and may increase the risk of dementia, according to a 2020 brain imaging study in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

For decades, experts have known that negative thinking is also tightly linked to other mental health disorders, such as clinical depression. In fact, research shows that the reciprocal connection between ruminating thoughts and depression leads to a vicious cycle that prolongs and intensifies symptoms of depression.

ANTs also fuel anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, grief, and other mental health issues. Being plagued by worrisome thoughts can make you feel like a negative person and makes it harder to overcome these problems.

WHY YOU NEED TO ELIMINATE THE ANTs

Challenging negative thoughts is critical for your mental health and well-being. Here’s why.

Just because you have a thought has nothing to do with whether it is true. Thoughts lie. They lie a lot, and it is your uninvestigated or unquestioned thoughts that steal your happiness.

If you do not question or correct your erroneous thoughts, you believe them, and you act as if they are 100% true. Allowing yourself to believe every thought you have is the prescription for anxiety disorders, depression, relationship problems, and prolonged grief.

You can learn to eliminate negative thought patterns and replace them with more helpful thoughts that give you a more accurate, fair assessment of any situation. This skill alone can completely change your life if you embrace and practice it. 

Reducing repetitive negative thinking can improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to a 2023 study in Psychological Medicine.

Take note, however, that positive thinking is not the answer. It kills way too many people, because they don’t think about the consequences of their actions.

Some anxiety is absolutely critical to good health and success. Pie-in-the-sky thinking and low levels of anxiety are associated with underestimating risks, a lackadaisical attitude toward your health, and making bad decisions. 

The best approach is to adopt accurate, honest thinking. To do so, you need to learn to kill the ANTs.

Dr. Amen’s ANT-killing process is based on the work of two mentors. Psychiatrist Aaron Beck pioneered a school of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, relationship problems, and even obesity. Byron Katie is a teacher and author.