The first is learning to recognize our negative and self-defeating thoughts. This can be difficult to do because the thoughts tend to be so habitual and automatic. For example, imagine a Fibromyalgia patient who takes a short walk one day and feels very tired when she gets home. As a result, she begins to feel depressed and hopeless. I'm never going to get better.
Negative thoughts tend to focus on only the worst aspects of a situation.
In evaluating your thoughts, the idea is to temporarily suspend belief that the thought is true, and consider the evidence for and against the thoughts. Once you have identified your negative thoughts and challenged them by finding inaccuracies and irrationalities, the last step of the process is finding alternative interpretations of your experience. Often there are alternative interpretations that are more productive. These pills don't help at all. Maybe I need to ask my doctor about changing the dosage.