illogical thinking (also known as distorted thinking or irrational thinking) is something that I have personally always dealt with.
I have always been an immediate negative or anxious thinker. Before doing my research and talking to other people, I had no idea my thoughts processes were even distorted. My thought patterns just always seemed to work that way. I adopted illogical thoughts as a normality. Now that I am able to identify and eliminate illogical thoughts, the way I feel is changing so much. And For the better.
Below I will list some forms of illogical thinking.
Black and white thinking
"If this event/occurrence/mistake happens it must means that this event/occurrence/mistake will also take place"
You see everything as black and white and either or. One bad thing must lead to an even worse conclusion later on. It is very easy to believe that one event is the beginning and ending of everything, particularly when anxious or nervous in a heated moment. I am now starting to realize that life is way more complex than this. We can turn things around every day.
I have always been an immediate negative or anxious thinker. Before doing my research and talking to other people, I had no idea my thoughts processes were even distorted. My thought patterns just always seemed to work that way. I adopted illogical thoughts as a normality. Now that I am able to identify and eliminate illogical thoughts, the way I feel is changing so much. And For the better.
Below I will list some forms of illogical thinking.
Black and white thinking
"If this event/occurrence/mistake happens it must means that this event/occurrence/mistake will also take place"
You see everything as black and white and either or. One bad thing must lead to an even worse conclusion later on. It is very easy to believe that one event is the beginning and ending of everything, particularly when anxious or nervous in a heated moment. I am now starting to realize that life is way more complex than this. We can turn things around every day.
Assuming a thought
"I must be doing something wrong, she doesn't like me"
This is a very simple and obvious illogical thought, but strangely is something I tend to do a lot.Assuming a thought means that you somehow convince yourself that you know what somebody else is thinking. A common assumption would be convincing yourself that somebody has a negative opinion of you without any actual confirmation from the person.
Unnecessary personalization
"It's all me, me, me!"
Self blame. We all do it. Give yourself a break, even if you did make a mistake.
This pattern of thought also relates to anxiety and shyness. when you unnecessarily personalize yourself you think that everything you do is going to gain some kind of reaction from the people around you. For example you think everyone is staring at you, laughing at you or talking about you whenever you are in a social setting.
Disqualifying the positive
"Everything in my life is negative!"
This form of illogical thinking can happen when you feel down or sad about a situation.
You disqualify any positive aspects of your life and accept the negative as the reality. This can be very hard frame of mind to be in. It is so important to have the ability to identify the positive and hopeful parts of your life no matter how small they may be.
Fortune Telling
"Tomorrow will go so badly"
Fortune telling occurs when you predict that something up and coming will go badly, and you then go onto confirm this negative thought in your head. This is very dangerous and can lead to unnecessary days of anxious feelings and discomfort.
We will never be able to know what tomorrow holds, so what not try to be hopeful about a situation? Making the effort to remain hopeful and positive about a situation can have massive effects on your mind and body.
Above are just a few examples of distorted thinking, all of these relate to me personally. There are
many other forms of distorted thinking which lead to worrying and anxiety, and I think it is important
that we understand what they are, so that we help ourselves and help others.
It's very easy to fall into these patterns of thinking when you already feel nervous, anxious or down - I challenge you to next time try and take on these negative thoughts! Identify them for what they are, find logical reasoning within yourself, take a deep breath and fight!
Emma.
references/helpful websites
http://sourcesofinsight.com/10-distorted-thinking-patterns/
http://access.ewu.edu/caps/selfhelp/stressmanage/distortthink
"I must be doing something wrong, she doesn't like me"
This is a very simple and obvious illogical thought, but strangely is something I tend to do a lot.Assuming a thought means that you somehow convince yourself that you know what somebody else is thinking. A common assumption would be convincing yourself that somebody has a negative opinion of you without any actual confirmation from the person.
Unnecessary personalization
"It's all me, me, me!"
Self blame. We all do it. Give yourself a break, even if you did make a mistake.
This pattern of thought also relates to anxiety and shyness. when you unnecessarily personalize yourself you think that everything you do is going to gain some kind of reaction from the people around you. For example you think everyone is staring at you, laughing at you or talking about you whenever you are in a social setting.
Disqualifying the positive
"Everything in my life is negative!"
This form of illogical thinking can happen when you feel down or sad about a situation.
You disqualify any positive aspects of your life and accept the negative as the reality. This can be very hard frame of mind to be in. It is so important to have the ability to identify the positive and hopeful parts of your life no matter how small they may be.
Fortune Telling
"Tomorrow will go so badly"
Fortune telling occurs when you predict that something up and coming will go badly, and you then go onto confirm this negative thought in your head. This is very dangerous and can lead to unnecessary days of anxious feelings and discomfort.
We will never be able to know what tomorrow holds, so what not try to be hopeful about a situation? Making the effort to remain hopeful and positive about a situation can have massive effects on your mind and body.
Above are just a few examples of distorted thinking, all of these relate to me personally. There are
many other forms of distorted thinking which lead to worrying and anxiety, and I think it is important
that we understand what they are, so that we help ourselves and help others.
It's very easy to fall into these patterns of thinking when you already feel nervous, anxious or down - I challenge you to next time try and take on these negative thoughts! Identify them for what they are, find logical reasoning within yourself, take a deep breath and fight!
Emma.
references/helpful websites
http://sourcesofinsight.com/10-distorted-thinking-patterns/
http://access.ewu.edu/caps/selfhelp/stressmanage/distortthink
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