I often see clients who engage in unhelpful or negative thinking styles. These patterns have become habits over time and is often out of our own awareness. It is important to increase awareness of your thoughts so that you are able to catch these negative patterns and work towards a healthier perspective.
Here are the 10 most common unhelpful things habits:
- All or nothing thinking: Sometimes called “black or white thinking.” If it is not perfect, then it is a failure.
- Overgeneralizing: Seeing a pattern in a single event. Nothing good ever happens to me.
- Mental filter: Only paying attention to certain types of information. Noting our failures but not our successes.
- Disqualifying the positive: Discounting the good things that have happened.
- Jumping to conclusions: Mind reading or fortune telling.
- Magnification and minimization: Blowing things out of proportion or making it seem less important.
- Emotional reasoning: Assuming that because we feel a certain way what we think must also be true. I feel embarrassed so I must be an idiot.
- Should or must: Using these words can make you feel guilty or that you have made a mistake.
- Labeling: Assigning labels to ourselves or other people. I’m a loser, they are such an idiot.
- Personalization: Blaming yourself or others for something that wasn’t completely your or their fault.
I would suggest taking an inventory of which of these you find yourself engaging in regularly. This will help you to target what patterns you can challenge to have a more helpful and positive perspective.
I help many teenagers with these thinking patterns because this is when they have likely began to develop. It can take time to break these bad habits but it will lead to a healthier and happier outlook.