Distorted thought patterns can lead to anxiety and depression.photo courtesyGerd Altmann/Pixabay
Distorted thought patterns are associated with anxiety and depression. But when we become aware of these thought patterns, we can change these thought patterns.
distorted thought patterns
If you suffer from anxiety or depression, you probably have distorted thought patterns. rather than in the middle. These distorted thought patterns can lead to depression and increased anxiety if not addressed.
Luckily, there are ways you can change your thought patterns once you become aware of them. There are many different distorted thought patterns. I’ve listed some of the most common ones here.
Here are five distorted thought patterns associated with depression and anxiety and what you can do to change them.
1. Polarized thinking: Also known as all-or-nothing thinking, or black-and-white thinking. Polarized thinking is thinking in extremes. For example, you are either a complete failure or a complete success. Or people are all good or all bad.
Resolution: Put things in perspective. Nothing is more black and white than this. It’s usually somewhere in between. There are gray areas. Most life events fall somewhere in that gray area.
2. Overgeneralization: come to a conclusion about an event and draw that conclusion all event. For example, if you are not good at one subject at school. You conclude that you are not good at any subject. In another example, conclude that all girls/guys will refuse you to date if you are denied a date.
Resolution: Realize that one negative event applies only to that one situation or one person. It doesn’t apply across the board. For example, if you’re bad at math, realize that subject weakness is unique to math alone. It’s not that I’m not good at other subjects. The same goes for dates. If you get rejected, she’s the only one who rejected you. Not everyone rejects you.
3. Catastrophe: When it comes to catastrophe, expect the worst in every situation. For example, if you get a low score on one test, it means you’ll start failing every subject, fail the whole university, and eventually have to drop out.
If your spouse is late it must mean he/she is having an affair. You will end up poor and alone. Even the smallest things make me think that something worse will happen.
Resolution: Look for evidence that any of these events are occurring. Does a low score on one test mean you fail all subjects and drop out of college altogether? A low score on one test does not necessarily mean you fail the class not necessarily. It means you scored low on one of his tests.
Investigate all possible worst-case scenarios. If your spouse is late, he/she is probably just late. Where is the evidence that he/she is having an affair and leaves you and you are in need? Mostly trivial It may be giving meaning to a situation that is a serious problem.
4. Personalization: This is when you take things personally, even if you had nothing to do with the situation. You think you are responsible for situations beyond your control. It’s somehow your fault. You somehow caused it all. You may even feel that you are to blame for other people’s bad moods. Maybe your boss is in a bad mood. I think it’s because of something you said or did. That you are somehow the cause of their bad mood.
Resolution: Don’t take things personally. Other people’s moods usually have nothing to do with you. It usually has to do with other issues they are dealing with themselves. And realize that in situations beyond your control, you’re not powerful enough to throw an event out of your control. you are only human You do not have superhuman powers that can cause events on your own. You are not responsible for events that are beyond your control.
5. Mental filtering: You interpret all events through a negative mental filter. See things through a negative lens, regardless of the situation. If something positive happens, write it down as an exception. I think it doesn’t really count. Because it doesn’t fit your negative view.
Think of this like wearing sunglasses. Things look a little different when viewed through the lenses of sunglasses. This is how we always see everything through a filtered lens. Taking off your sunglasses allows you to see the situation as it is, rather than through a negative mental filter.
Resolution: Recognize that you have seen life through habitual negative thinking. You can choose to view events and situations differently. You want to transform the positive events you consider yourself an exception into new ways of thinking and experiencing things. Rewrite the script to include a positive view of life events.
summarize
The first step is to recognize what distorted thinking causes anxiety and depression. Once you know what thoughts are driving you into depression and even anxiety, you can do something about it.
Then you can reconfigure the situation. Try to see things from another perspective. Look for evidence to determine if what you think is true. Instead of jumping to conclusions, look for other explanations for what’s going on. Writing down your thoughts may also help. Then write down some other possible explanations for what is happening.
Finally, no matter how bad things seem, they’re usually not as extreme as you think. Look for gray areas. No matter how bad you think it is, it’s your problem. Most of the time you will fall in the middle. Problems usually have workable solutions. Put things into perspective.
