Even more on CBT

Two more though traps that are very common and I have been guilty of in the past are Mental Filters and Disqualifying the positive.

Mental Filters can start us in a cycle of negative thoughts. We focus only on the negative of a situation, we then ruminate on those negative feelings which increases their importance so that our memory of an event or outcome can become distorted. I always try to focus on partial successes at this point. Every situation is made up of positives and  negatives and everything can have some form of positive outcome, even if it is just a learning experience.

Disqualifying the positive is another related thought trap. We respond to a situation by discounting anything which may reflect positively on us putting it down to luck or circumstance. While any negative outcomes are definitely our fault. This can be an easy trap to fall into where our own achievements are less worthy than those of others. The imaginary twin I mentioned yesterday is a good tool to use here.

These problems are easier to identify than solve but at least if we start analysing our own thought patterns we can become aware of any errors.

Cheers