The basic premise of cognitive therapy is that one's interpretation of a situation, rather than the situation itself, determines the feelings and behaviors that follow. These interpretations take the form of quickly-generated, fleeting thoughts, called "automatic thoughts." Over time, as we accumulate life experiences and interpret them in consistent ways, we develop patterns of understanding ourselves, others, and the world around us. While most of our automatic thoughts are rational and adaptive, contributing to generally successful patterns of functioning, others are apt to be somewhat irrational, or to contain some inaccuracies, and therefore lead to unnecessarily distressing emotions and dysfunctional behaviors. Eventually, we can get stuck in negative cycles of feeling and behavior. Because cognitive therapy recognizes the centrality of thoughts in developing negative states like depression, anxiety, and relationship difficulties, it addresses these problems by directly targeting the inaccuracies in our cognitions.