Negative thought patterns

Sometimes, the ways we think and process information can have a real impact on how we navigate our way through the world.  Challenging negative thought patterns can open up new possibilities for living in an emotionally healthier way. Here are just a few examples of negative thought patterns. Do any of these example thinking styles feel familiar?  Would you like to ways to stop these patterns from holding you back?

Black and white thinking – we get stuck in ways of doing things and thinking that exclude alternatives that may offer positive change

Filtering- we often discount information that doesn’t fit in our world view or perception of ourselves.  How often do we ignore positive feedback and focus only on something we hear or perceive as negative or as a criticism.

Fortune Telling – how often do we predict what might happen and, by focusing only on negative outcomes, fill our day to day with unnecessary worry about things that may never happen?

Generalising- often we tell ourselves stories about our life that mean we get stuck in a certain storylines that may not even be accurate.  “I never have any luck.” “Nobody ever wants to hear what I have to say.” “Nothing good ever happens to me.” “Nobody’s ever grateful for anything I do.” “It could only happen to me.”

Catastrophising – sometimes we are all guilty of blowing things way out of proportion. In therapy, we can challenge some of these dramas we create for ourselves.