Because our core beliefs help us to make sense of the world at a young age, it rarely occurs to us to assess whether they are the most useful ways of understanding our adult experiences. Instead, we tend to go on acting, thinking and feeling as if these beliefs were true. Also, although many core beliefs stem from childhood, we can acquire new negative core beliefs at any age, through powerful negative experiences such as witnessing or experiencing trauma; living in chaotic, unpredictable circumstances; or experiencing persistent unhappiness for whatever reason.
