1. Catastrophizing
We go from 0 to “my life is
OVER” in five seconds flat when we get caught up in this thought pattern. It
usually involves some awesome exaggeration as to how one tiny little mistake is
going to be the end of a career, or some similarly important aspect of life.
This creates loads of anxiety, fear, stress, and even hopelessness or
helplessness.
To
steer clear of this one, go with the facts based in reality. Be wary of getting
spun up into the anxiety cloud by making something far worse than it
really is. Also, DON’T jump to conclusions (another negative thought pattern).
2.
Generalizing
We
take one thing and run with it. We color all our future interactions by one
event. Ever heard “all guys are liars” or “all women are high maintenance”?
Watch out for the use of "all" and "none," and break this
bad habit for good!
3.
Personalizing
The
world does not revolve around you. It doesn’t revolve around me, either. Keep
this in mind when you take something personally. People’s reactions have much
more to do with their own issues than they have to do with yours. Give yourself
a break from taking all the blame automatically or assuming (another negative
thought pattern) that you're causing someone to feel or do a particular feeling
or action. We only have that much power over ourselves.
4.
Filtering
Calling
all my Negative Nancys. They can find the dark cloud regardless of how many
rainbows show up. Filtering focuses on only the negative aspects while ignoring
the positive. This is a type of skewed thinking. To stay clear of this one,
make sure you’re viewing things from a clear and balanced perspective. There
are few things that are all bad or all good.
5.
"Should"-ing
This
is probably one of my favorites as I “should” on myself all the time. Shoulds
imply that we aren’t up to snuff and that we're falling behind in some way. Add
enough shoulds to your plate, and you’ll be overwhelmed and feeling defeated in
no time. Your get out of jail free card is that if you really
should be doing
something, then make the time to do it! If it isn’t really that important, then
kick it to the curb. You have enough going on right now, and that’s OK!