Thursday, October 21, 2010

Problematic thought patterns

So I have this list of different ways of thinking that can change our understanding of reality and interfere with our ability to simply live a fulfilling life.  The idea is to look over them and see which ones I might be prone to.  Here are the ones I think might fit me, to varying degrees.
  • Filtering - the tendency to focus only on the negative aspects of a situation and overlook the positive (or vice versa).  Personal example: I'm invited to minister in music with the parish youth group.  I focus on why I can't support them, rather than the positive of what it means for me to even consider the question in its proper light.
  • Overgeneralization - the tendency to draw conclusions that are way beyond the known facts of a situation.  Personal example:  If my cycling buddies haven't e-mailed about a ride in a while, it must be because they've gotten tired of me falling behind because of being out of form, etc.
  • Catastrophizing - the tendency to look at things as much worse than they are.  Personal example: Panicking over not being able to find the problematic thought patterns sheet because of the impression it would leave if I lost my first "assignment."
  • Mind reading - the tendency to believe you know what other people are thinking or feeling, and to act accordingly without checking out your hunches.  (For me, it's more a matter of thinking that I know what people are likely to think or feel, or of assuming that others think or feel the same way I do.)  Personal example: At my worst moments, I assume people who learn about my past will despise me.  (At my best moments, I merely don't assume one way or the other.)  I couple this with catastrophizing.
  • Emotional Reasoning - the tendency to believe that what you feel must be true, automatically.  Personal example:  When Teri stays up late to watch TV regularly, I tend to assume that it's because these shows are more important to her than I am.
  • Personalization - The tendency to believe the everything people do or say is some kind of reaction to you.  Personal example: See emotional reasoning example.
I think those are probably the ones that are most a part of my thought patterns.

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