Common thinking errors :
We all have them – here are just a few
When we suffer with Anxiety, worry, depression and many other complaints we generally suffer from some of the more Common Thinking Errors. The trick is to see what to do with these thinking errors once we have identified them for this you need to use a technique known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT when combined with hypnosis this becomes Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy and can be very very powerful.
Here are a few of the most common thinking errors.
All or nothing thinking Also known as black and white thinking the judgment does not allow for shades of grey somebody with all or nothing thinking will believe for example, if I’m not a great success then I must be a failure.
Jumping to conclusions
Mind reading Somebody who is nervous may believe their audience is hyper-critical – this is an unfounded assumption. The client may speculate about what other people are thinking without any evidence.
Fortune Telling Another form of unfounded assumption, when somebody talks and thinks as though something is bound to happen, despite a lack of evidence. This can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy.
Labeling “I am a complete idiot” or “I am useless” are classic forms of self labeling. It is also possible to characterise or stigmatise others such as “Anyone who like Coronation Street must be a dull person”
Magnification When somebody exaggerate the importance of something ie making a mountain out of a molehill.
Minimization The trivialization of important things
Over-generalisation All men are aggressive is a classic example – tarring with the same brush is another example.
Discounting the positive The positive fact is acknowledged but trivialized and the importance thus dismissed.
Mental Filter : Selective Abstraction Selective thinking is another term, we deliberately ignore certain facts and focus on others – usually the worst possible set of circumstances.
Should and Must Someone may claim that they must pass their exams – there is no evidence to say that they must, A should statement can be changed to a can statement
Emotional Reasoning We allow our heart to rule our head in a negative way – if in an unhealthy frame of mind our emotions are often distorted
Catastrophising Pre-occupation with the idea of things in the future going disastrously wrong
Personalisation Falsely assuming responsibility or excessive absolute responsibility
Blame Falsely attributing responsibility to others for something
Comparisons “I can do it, so why can’t they?” Or “They can do it so why can’t I?”
Awfulization “Wouldn’t it be awful if ………….” This leads to negative thinking and sufferers quickly find themselves discounting the positive or Catastrophising
What if? Similar to Awfulization the “What if” mind set focuses on the negatives “What if it all goes horribly wrong?” for example, this is similar to Discounting the Positive but with future projection.
If you were to find anyone claiming not to suffer with at least one of the thinking errors listed please get their signature as they may well be a saint.
The simple truth is that we all suffer from one or more of these thinking errors from time to time. It’s when they become a belief that we struggle.
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