Understanding Unhelpful Thinking Habits

Usually attached to anxiety is unhelpful thinking habits. Once you are able to identify what your unhelpful thinking styles, you start to notice them. Unhelpful thinking occurs often just before and during distressing situations. Once you are able to notice them, then you can challenge or distance yourself from those thoughts and begun to perceive the situation in a different, more helpful way.

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Mind Filter

This is where you only notice what the filter allows you to see and you dismiss anything does not fit. This is equal to looking through gloomy specs because you only see the negative/unrealistic and ignore anything that is more positive or realistic.

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask yourself

Am I only seeing the bad stuff?

Am I leaving out the positive stuff that has happened?

What is more realistic?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Mind-reading

This is where we assume we know what others are thinking and it's usually about us.

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask yourself

Am I assuming I know what others are thinking?

What is the evidence that they feel this way?

Those are my own thoughts, not theirs...

Is there a different, maybe more balanced way to look at this?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Prediction

This is where you believe you know what is going to happen in the future.

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask

Am I thinking that I can predict the future?

How likely is it that it might really happen?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Compare and despair

This is when you see only the good and positive aspect in others and compare yourself negatively against them

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask

Am I doing that 'compare and despair' thing?

What would be a more balanced and helpful way of looking at it?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Critical Self

This is where you put yourself down, self-criticism, blaming yourself for events of situations that are not totally your responsibility

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask yourself

Would most people who really know me say what I say about me?

Is this something that I am totally responsible for?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Shoulds and musts

Thinking or saying "I should" (or shouldn't) and "I must" puts pressure on yourself and sets up unrealistic expectations

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask

Am I putting more pressure on myself, setting up expectations of myself that are almost impossible?

What would be more realistic?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Catastrophising

Imagining and believing that the worst possible thing will happen

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask

What's most likely to happen?

What are the actual chances of this happening?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Emotional reasoning

I feel bad so it must be bad. Using your emotions to reason.

→​​​​​​​Things you can say

Just because it feels bad, doesn't necessary mean it is bad. My feelings are just a reaction to my thoughts, and my thoughts are just automatic brain reflexes.

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Mountains and molehills

Exaggerating the risk of danger or the negatives. Minimizing the odds of how things are most likely to turn out or minimizing positives

→​​​​​​​Questions you can ask

Am I exaggerating the risk of danger and minimizing the evidence that it is most likely to be okay?

Am I exaggerating the negative and minimizing the positives?

How would someone else see it? What's the bigger picture?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Evaluations/ Judgements

Making judgments about events, ourselves, others, or the world, rather than describing what we actually see and have evidence for.

→​​​​​​​Question you can ask

Is there another perspective?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Black and white thinking

Believing that something or someone can be only good or bad, right or wrong, rather anything in-between.

→​​​​​​​Question you can ask

Things aren't either totally white or totally black - there are shades of gray. Where is this on the spectrum?

╰☆╮​​​​​​​Memories

Current situations and events can trigger upsetting memories, leading us to believe that the danger is here and now, rather in the past, causing us distress right now.

→​​​​​​​What you can say

This is just a reminder of the past. That was then and this is now. Even though this memory makes me feel upset, it is not actually happening again right now.

→ Do you recognize any of these thoughts as your own? How can you now knowing what to call your thinking habits work on challenging them?

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