Thinking errors - you're in your head!
BY: EMILY PFANNENSTIEL, LPC, LMHC
What are thinking errors—you ask?
Thinking errors occur when we look at a situation through a negatively biased lens (often due to anxiety, depression, or past trauma). When we engage in thinking errors, we typically aren’t viewing the situation accurately, and therefore, these errors can cause a lot of problems for us in terms of how we feel, and in how we choose to respond. This can often create a negative feedback loop, keeping us stuck in anxious or depressive cycles. Consider the following:
Black and white thinking
Seeing things as all good or all bad, a total success or total failure, or in black and white and failing to see the gray area or middle ground.Overgeneralizing
Taking one particular event and generalizing it to the rest of our lives (e.g you fail a math test and declare you’re just bad at math).Filtering out the positive
This is when a bunch of good things happen, but one bad thing happens and you get stuck on the one bad thing and let it color your whole experience. Perfectionists know what I’m talking about.Mind reading
This is when we think we know what someone else is thinking. Don’t get me wrong, this one is a double edge sword- it is often very helpful to try to understand what another person is thinking to help build empathy and understanding. However, if we are reading the situation through a negatively biased lens, we may misinterpret the situation and misattribute thoughts unfairly to another person and end up sabotaging ourselves. This thinking error is very closely tied to social anxiety, because if you’re engaging in this one you are likely interpreting a situation with another person inaccurately, which can cause you to be more on guard or to shut down entirely.Personalization
Also closely related to social anxiety, personalization occurs when essentially we think people are thinking of us much more than they are. For example, if your friend doesn’t text you back and you think, “she must be mad at me.” Instead, consider that your friend is a notably horrible texter, or she just had a new baby, or a big work project came up and she’s simply less available than usual.Unreal Ideal
Unreal ideal involves comparing ourselves to others, often in ways that are unfair, which can ruin our motivation. For example, thinking to yourself, “she lost the baby weight so much faster than me,” when that friend (or social media influencer) had the finances to hire a personal trainer or a private chef.Catastrophizing
We catastrophize when we predict the worst-case scenario outcome. From a trauma perspective, this may be the brain’s way of preparing to keep us safe (after all, our brains are wired to keep us safe, not necessarily happy). Instead, try envisioning what a positive outcome (or at least a neutral one) might be.Emotional Reasoning
In this thinking error, we take our feelings as fact. If you’re feeling anxious about going on a date, for example, you might think, “well then I just shouldn’t go on the date” or “I don’t like this person.” I don’t want you to invalidate how you feel or stop listening to your gut, but rather to learn to differentiate your anxious thoughts from your gut instincts.Labeling
If you find yourself calling yourself “stupid” when you make a mistake, you are engaging in labeling. Labels can often be found on either side of the spectrum (with a negative connotation, or a positive- or over-idealizing one), with words such as “idiot,” “perfect,” “dumb,” “unattainable,” or “bitchy,” all making the list. Labeling in this way can have a deleterious impact on our self-esteem.Fortune-telling
Finally, the last thinking error on the list is fortune-telling. Essentially, this is predicting what is going to happen in the future often in an inflexible way. Try on multiple outcomes or routes to achieve your ultimate goal and see how this changes the way that you feel.
As you can see, thinking errors are powerful predictors of how we feel, and our feelings are powerful motivators for what we choose to do. If you are interested in learning more about how to gain control over your thoughts, to ultimately gain some more control over your life, reach out to me! I am currently accepting new clients for the fall of 2022 - and can’t wait to meet you!