Understanding ‘bad’ thoughts
12 Dec 2020 by Ted Escobedo
2 min read
Our brains sometimes tell us things that may hurt our feelings or cause us to feel insecure. These patterns are learned and develop into habits. Many people develop these cognitive distortions due to adverse or traumatic events in life. The longer these events go on, the more likely these thought patterns are to form. Mental health researchers have identified some of these unique types of thought distortions:
Polarized Thinking – also known as “black-and-white” or “all-or-nothing” thinking. “If I am not perfect, I am a failure.” Labeling – reducing oneself into just one descriptive word that is usually negative. Example: “I’m just a drunk.” Overgeneralizing – inaccurately applying a conclusion about one event to everything in life. Example: “I failed this test. I suck at everything.” Personalization – blaming oneself for issues or situations that are beyond your control or taking things personally when they don’t have to do with you. Example: “My friend got drunk at the party and ruined everyone’s night. If I had just kept her from drinking so much, it would have been better. This is my fault.” Discounting the Positive – dismissing anything positive in the situation and believing all good things that happen are accidents. Example: “I only got a promotion because I got lucky.” Mind Reading – assuming you know what other people think, and it’s almost always negative. Example: “Everyone thinks I’m ugly.” The fact that we can learn negative thought patterns means that we can also learn positive, helpful thought patterns that are based in reality. But first, we must identify the distortions we have so that we can turn them around.
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Source: https://lifestance.com/blog/10-kinds-of-thoughts-that-harm-mental-health/?fbclid=IwAR2AswikiLZCTFSXwTCyHolyPXRixQbQEDuTrKZX4OdeMaCI7nRye3IeZkE
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