Thinking Styles#

1. All or nothing - black & white thinking#

• “I am a bad person because I make mistakes”
• Use Wise Mind, Helicopter thinking, or STOPP

2. Catastrophising#

• “Everybody is going to leave me”, “everybody hates me”, “I don’t do anything right”, or “nobody truly cares about me”
• Use Check the Facts, Coping Ahead & Radical Acceptance

3. Mind Reading#

• “I’ve upset them”, “they’re angry at me” or “I put them in a bad mood”
• Reject confirmation bias, tolerate uncomfortability & check the facts

4. Overgeneralisation#

• “I do everything wrong”, “I’m lazy” or “I’m not trying hard enough”
• Check the facts & tolerate uncomfortability

5. Mental filter#

• “Everything I do is wrong”, “today has been awful” or “I want to break up with XYZ”
• Check the facts & opposite action

6. Disqualifying the positive#

• Downplaying positive experiences as luck, or attributing all good things to other people.
• Check the facts.

7. Emotional reasoning#

• Misreading & distorting situations negatively (to fit my core beliefs). Identifying thoughts, feelings or core beliefs as factual.
• Check the facts, tolerate uncomfortability

8. “Should” statements#

• Trying to change the past & not accepting how things have impacted the present
• Take a deep breath, Wise Mind ACCEPTS distressing thoughts

9. Labelling#

• Assuming the opinions and beliefs of others without explanations
• Avoid assumptions, FACE & check the facts

10. Personalisation#

• Assuming I am always the problem
• Self-affirmation, self-validation & empathy.