Sometimes it seems like the feelings of anxiety just sneaks up on us. But research has shown that in some cases there are biases in our thinking that can intensify anxiety.
Some of the common exaggerated or inaccurate thought patterns that lead to anxiety and can get in the way of our functioning are these:
All-or-nothing thinking: Things are all good or all bad; you are perfect or a failure.
Overgeneralizing: If something negative happens in one situation it means it will happen in all future, similar situations.
Catastrophizing: You look to the future with sweeping negativity and forecast disaster instead of more realistic possibilities.
Labeling: Applying a fixed, global label on yourself or others without including any context. For example -- "I’m a loser,” “I’m bad,” “I’m inadequate,” “I’m a burden.”
“Should”-ing and “must”-ing: You have rigid expectations for how you should or must act, and when these unreasonable expectations aren’t met, you forecast horrendous consequences.
The next time anxiety creeps in, STOP to try to identify if you're using one of these thought patterns.
Become an observer of, not a reactor to, your thoughts.
2. Make anxious thoughts less threatening by identifying errors in thinking, core beliefs, worry triggers, or over-generalizations.
3. Increase your awareness for problem-solving versus unproductive worry.
Successfully identifying the use of one of these errors in thinking will help you recognize that the thought pattern is false. Then you can re-think more realistically which will decrease the anxiety. Worry does not help you. What will help is learning to identify and isolate what is the problem, then use problem-solving skills to come to a resolution. (I'll write more on problem-solving skills in another post.)
Comments