Limited Thinking

[Chessie]

This is something from my personal development group....I don't know what book this is out of, but it's something we all do at times. I'll put in red the one I most often do.
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<center>Eight Limited Thinking Patterns</center>

1. Filtering: You focus on the negative details while ignoring all the positive aspects of a situation.

2. Polarized Thinking: Thing are black or white, good or bad. You have to be perfect or you're a failure. There's no middle ground, no room for mistakes.

3. Overgeneralization: You reach a general conclusion based on based on a single incident or piece of evidence. You exaggerate the frequency of problems and use negative global labels.

4. Mind Reading: Without their saying so, you know what people are feeling and why they act the way they do. In particular, you have certain knowledge of how people think and feel about you.

5. Catastrophizing: you expect, even visualize disaster. You notice or hear about a problem and start asking, "What if?" What if tragedy strikes? What if it happens to you?

6. Magnifying: You exaggerate the degree or intensity of a problem. You turn up the volume on anything bad, making it loud, large, and overwhelming.

7. Personalization: You assume that everything people do or say is a kind of reaction to you. You also compare yourself to others, trying to determine who is smarter, more competent, better looking, and so on.

8. Shoulds: You have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should (or shouldn't) act. People who break the rules anger you, and you feel guilty when you violate the rules.

If people care to give examples of these, that would be wonderful.

[balletomane]

wow. i think i do all of those quite frequently. i haven't time to respond properly right now, but if i get the chance, i will write more. thanks for posting this though. it is really interesting.

love,
b

[mallie]

Thanks for posting this Chessie. I know that I engage in a lot of irrational thinking like these, and working on that was something I'm thinking I need to do. I'm sure this list will help

I'll try and come back and post examples when I've had a chance to think about it some more.

[Hazel W]

There's something very similar to that in 'The Feeling Good Handbook' by Dr David Burns, which is a really good book. Bout three inches thick, but well worth the read. It's a cognitive approach to mental health, and he focuses on depression and anxiety a lot. It's pretty easy to read, not filled with jargon, and makes a lot of sense. the best psychiatrist I ever had, recommended it to me years ago, and anyone I've ever loaned it out to liked it. Stuff on it here, if anyone is interested

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 47-1560463

[VowsOfSadness]

I could give some examples cause I do them alot.

1. Filtering: You focus on the negative details while ignoring all the positive aspects of a situation.
"

2. Polarized Thinking: Thing are black or white, good or bad. You have to be perfect or you're a failure. There's no middle ground, no room for mistakes.
"If I don't lose ten pounds by....I will just die!"

3. Overgeneralization: You reach a general conclusion based on based on a single incident or piece of evidence. You exaggerate the frequency of problems and use negative global labels.
"I'll always end up cutting so why even try?"

4. Mind Reading: Without their saying so, you know what people are feeling and why they act the way they do. In particular, you have certain knowledge of how people think and feel about you.
"She hates me" with out her specifically saying so. Or thinking, "Oh no, she doesn't want to hang out with me because....", just because she couldn't make it.

5. Catastrophizing: you expect, even visualize disaster. You notice or hear about a problem and start asking, "What if?" What if tragedy strikes? What if it happens to you?
"I can't go out I'll have a panic attack, I know it"

6. Magnifying: You exaggerate the degree or intensity of a problem. You turn up the volume on anything bad, making it loud, large, and overwhelming.

7. Personalization: You assume that everything people do or say is a kind of reaction to you. You also compare yourself to others, trying to determine who is smarter, more competent, better looking, and so on.
If you have plans and someone calls to cancel for personal reasons and you think, "She just didn't want to hang out with me" kind of thoughts.

8. Shoulds: You have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should (or shouldn't) act. People who break the rules anger you, and you feel guilty when you violate the rules.
"Well I Should tell her I'm sorry" don't should do it or don't.