Have you ever felt anxiety and worry about some action or behaviour you took that actually did not materialize into any of your anticipated consequences?

For example, an offhand comment you thought might’ve been misconstrued sets off a flurry of negative thoughts like fear of getting fired or some physical effect like anxiety-ridden insomnia.

Part of being human is this experience of negative thoughts that trigger anxiety. One psychological term for these is “unhelpful thought patterns”.

The unhelpful thinking style escalating a small incident into a big disaster  is called catastrophizing.

There are many types of unhelpful thinking styles and the first step to managing them is to recognize them for what they are: thinking traps that drag you down.

Here are ten common unhelpful thinking styles:

  1. Catastrophizing
  2. All or Nothing Thinking is the trap of perfectionism
  3. Over Generalizing
  4. Mental filter occurs when behaviours are ignored
  5. Disqualifying the Positive
  6. Jumping to Conclusions
  7. Emotional Reasoning tends to be irrational
  8. Labeling of yourself or others
  9. Personalization relates to blame of self or others
  10. When you apply Should/Ought/Must to your behavior
These unhelpful thinking styles cloud our thinking and our judgment. They can trigger heightened stress and anxiety. We can’t control our thoughts, but we can choose how we respond..
To read the full article on the strategies you can take to curb these unwelcome thoughts and to do about them, click here.
Everything you experience in life is filtered by your mind.  Getting to know your mind better and learning how to manage disruptive thoughts is a critical skill to develop.