Topic Tuesday // Tues, 15 March, 7pm AEDT // Managing and changing your thoughts

Well done narrowing in on a specific scenario @Polly48! That fits the model well. Do you recognise any of the types of unhelpful thinking patterns from the sheet in your thoughts?

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OOhhh good question @Shimmer, so going back to the table below: I think I am jumping to conclusions and mind reading, as well as labelling with my unhelpful thoughts.

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Thanks for sharing some of those thoughts @Jacques. I imagine that saying some of those things to yourself (or hearing them from others) could be very hurtful and distressing. What do you think are the impacts on your emotions? And do you recognise any unhelpful thinking styles from the sheet in those thoughts?

Welcome @Former-Member

You're spot on with your scenario! Picked it up very quickly. So what style of thinking could your thoughts in that scenario fall under?

Yes @Shimmer, i can identify with all of the labels on the work sheet, i do take everything out of proportion, i over generalise, everything is all or nothing and i so catastrophes everything

Thinking about some of these things make me sad. Looking forward to discussing how we change to improve how we feel @Former-Member @Jacques @Polly48 @Drac0 @Shaz51 @Lookingup

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Me too @CherryBomb - let's move forward and start thinking about how we can change these patterns! Everyone feel free to keep identifying the thinking styles you might be using, then you can have a go at modifying them!

We can challenge our negative automatic thoughts by identifying unhelpful thinking styles, then evaluating the evidence to see if they are accurate or not, and replacing them with a more balanced viewpoint. The aim of challenging cognitive distortions is to create a more balanced, flexible way of thinking that does not have such a negative effect on your mood and actions.

For example, if you typically think “I’m no good at anything!” after making a mistake, you might be overgeneralising – that is, being overly broad in the conclusions we draw based on a single event. An alternative, more accurate and helpful thought might be “I have made a mistake, but that happens to everyone sometimes”. How might that influence the way you feel and act? My guess is that you might feel worthless or hopeless if you think “I’m no good at anything”, and be more likely to give up. Thinking “I have made a mistake, but that happens to everyone sometimes” is much less self-critical, so it’s unlikely to lower your mood as much, allowing you to keep trying at whatever you are doing.