Name that distorted cognition (thought/perception)

[Ronin]

Personalization wrapped up in survivor's guilt.

Looking for reasons it wasn't my fault & reasons it being my fault wouldn't change the outcomes.

 

[ms spock]

Yes back to that all or nothing thinking and helplessness!

 

[Ronin]

All or nothing thinking & minimization.

This time minimizing my contribution / if I'm not doing everything I had wished for, then actions are meaningless. Need to knock it off and not project distortions on the past that went with less of distortions, more of reflexive intuition.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I am learning slowly not to beat myself up for failures in my life but want to take a more proactive way that is balanced. Black and white thinking really knots me up all tangled.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

Today I've been stuck ruminating in cyclical thinking. I've been assuming and if I feel it it must be real and all or nothing and catastrophizing and mind reading. Over and over again. I'm depressed stressed triggered anxious and exhausted. I feel like I'm drowning quietly and no one is seeing it. I feel like no one is seeing my hands waving or hearing me ask or noticing my tears when I cry. I'm in a bad place. I need help. I'm struggling.

 

[ms spock]

1. All or nothing thinking -- You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.

5. Jumping to conclusions -- You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion. (Involves mind-reading and fortune-telling.)

6. Magnification and minimization -- You exaggerate the importance of things, or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny.

7. Emotional reasoning -- You assume that your emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are, as in "I feel it, therefore it must be true."

10. Personalization -- You see yourself as the cause of some negative external event which, in fact, you were not primarily responsible for.

Jumping to conclusions is a really big one for me I am certain that people think and feel badly about myself and think I am a terrible person.

The others are really there as well.

I am disputing it all a little bit more now.

 

[Ronin]

I'm in a bad place. I need help. I'm struggling.

:hug::hug: Blackbird.

 

[ms spock]

I feel like no one is seeing my hands waving or hearing me ask or noticing my tears when I cry.

***gently sits next to BBS and offers her a hot beverage***

 

[ms spock]

Jumping to conclusions -- You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion. (Involves mind-reading and fortune-telling.)
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I am doing a lot of this - thinking that I am thinking rationally. It is embarrassing that I am so stuck in this one.

 

[ms spock]

And I caught myself "Shoulding" myself - which is not helpful.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

I am doing a lot of this - thinking that I am thinking rationally.

I do that a lot too. And then I end up feeling anxious. And that's when I realize I've been having distorted thoughts.

Lately when I catch myself thinking things like "it seems like" "it feels like" it seems like" "it probably means" then I know my brain is looking for a conclusion to jump to. And I stop myself and acknowledge my brain is trying to jump to conclusions. I'll ask myself what I'm feeling and then I'll remind myself to remember the facts of whatever conclusion my brain is trying to jump to. It helps me to not go too far.

It's not always easy to catch myself. I'm grateful that I do when I can though. I think the more I do this it might get easier to do. And maybe I'll stop jumping to conclusions as easily as I've done.

 

[ms spock]

I do that a lot too. And then I end up feeling anxious. And that's when I realize I've been having distorted thoughts.

It helps to know that other people have been doing that as well.

That is really clever of you to realise that though @BlackbirdSinging.

Lately when I catch myself thinking things like "it seems like" "it feels like" it seems like" "it probably means" then I know my brain is looking for a conclusion to jump to. And I stop myself and acknowledge my brain is trying to jump to conclusions. I'll ask myself what I'm feeling and then I'll remind myself to remember the facts of whatever conclusion my brain is trying to jump to. It helps me to not go too far.

That is great! I really jump to a lot of conclusions. I do it about what I think other people are most likely thinking about me and it has no basis in reality.

It's not always easy to catch myself. I'm grateful that I do when I can though. I think the more I do this it might get easier to do. And maybe I'll stop jumping to conclusions as easily as I've done.

I hope I can do that as well too. You are working on a solid practice there BBS. Thanks for sharing.