3 More Negative Thinking Traps & Tools to Reframe Them
Last fall, we introduced readers to the concept of negative thinking traps.
If you missed it, you can get the full explanation on what they are here, but as a quick reminder, let’s go over the definition we laid out last time:
“Thinking traps-also known as cognitive distortions–are something we all experience to a degree. They are basically errors in our thinking processes; where context is overlooked, information that was left out is assumed, or we assign motivations that we don’t actually know to the people around us.”
Like we said above, everyone experiences them from time to time. They’re very often stemming from raw and true emotional experiences we’ve had, which is what fills in the context or information we’re missing at the time. And because experiencing these negative thinking traps is such a common experience, we also know that these cognitive patterns can be unpacked and reframed.
Last time we covered cognitive distortions we expanded on just three:
All or nothing thinking: things are either good or bad; you’ve succeeded or you’ve failed.
Catastrophizing: assigning big meaning to small issues; always assuming the worst possible outcome.
Personalization: assigning yourself responsibility or blame for things that don’t have anything to do with you
But there are many different negative thinking traps beyond those three. Today we’re going to dive into three more:
Mental filtering
Fortune-telling
Control fallacy
Mental filtering:
What it is:
Mental filtering is when you can’t seem to see the whole picture because you’re focused on the negatives. What you notice and allow yourself to explore mentally goes through a filter of sorts where any positive or neutral observations or information is left out, and you can only see negative things.
For example, let’s say you have a job interview. At the beginning of the interview you’re so nervous, you miss a question that’s asked of you and need to get the interviewer to repeat themselves. Though you answer the question well, and have a successful interview otherwise, all you can think about is the one moment you “messed up.”
What to do about it:
Getting yourself to notice when you fall into the trap of mental filtering is the first step. In instances where you find yourself fixating on a particular moment, try to journal to get all of your thoughts out. Then, once they’re out, you can review them–and challenge yourself to really interrogate if they are telling the whole story. When you look at the negative moments you’re fixating on, ask yourself “Okay, and what else?” and try to list two additional positive or neutral things that also occurred. Actively practicing to remind yourself that the picture isn’t all bad can help you begin to see the larger picture when you’re in it, so you don’t always fall into the trap.
Fortune telling:
What it is:
Fortune telling is a negative thinking pattern similar to catastrophizing or jumping to conclusions, where you “predict” the outcome of a future event, but only take negative factors into account. These predictions are manifestations of other mental health struggles, such as anxiety or depression, rather than rational thought, which is why they tend to be hopeless or fearful in nature. Unfortunately, this cognitive distortion has a sort of self-fulfilling nature to it. For example: A person who has been single for a long time and who has been on a series of unsuccessful dates may feel isolated and fearful at the idea of not connecting with someone deeply again. However, if they start to think “I’m just going to be alone forever,” that hopelessness and fear then informs how they’ll engage with opportunities to connect with new people, which can prevent the vulnerability and risk taking necessary to connect meaningfully with someone. This can then reinforce the negative fortune telling behavior, as they proved themselves “right” by not getting curious about their thought process.
What to do about it:
First, notice when these fortune-telling thoughts are happening. Instead of focusing on the thought, refocus your attention to how you’re feeling when those thoughts come up. What emotions are strongest? Where in your body are you feeling them? When do those physical sensations usually come up for you? It’s likely that these thoughts are your current coping mechanisms for when feelings of depression or anxiety come up. Then ask yourself what information you have that is really informing the outcome you predicted? What are you overlooking? Challenge yourself to come up with two positive alternatives to the negative one you’ve predicted. If what you’ve predicted is the worst case scenario, what’s the best case scenario? What’s a neutral outcome?
Control fallacy:
What it is:
There are two versions of the control fallacy. One is a fallacy of hypercontrol, where you are in control of everything so anything and everything that happens is your responsibility and fault. The other is a fallacy of complete lack of control, where you feel so out of control that you take no responsibility and blame external forces for how things turn out.
What to do about it:
Practice noticing both what is in your control and out of your control. When you know what you’re responsible for, you can reduce the anxiety that comes along feeling like you’re responsible for everything, and can instead stay in your lane and accept what is not in your control. When something outside of your control goes wrong, look at what you have influence and control over. How can you react to it? What is your job to worry about, and what is not?
If you’re looking to learn new ways to cope with negative thinking traps, working with a therapist can help. Our therapists at Anchor Counseling New York can help you explore coping skills that work for your situation. Our therapists are accepting new clients - schedule an appointment today to get started.
Blog authors all hold positions at Anchor Counseling. For more information about our therapists and services please contact us.