Your thoughts about a situation largely determine your feelings.

Thoughts can seem true even when they’re not! They can cause emotional distress!

We often don’t even realize that we are having irrational thoughts. Once you can label, identify and dissect your irrational thoughts, you take away some of their power.

Here are four of the 11 irrational thought patterns.  I’ll be sharing more in my next blog.

See if you fall into any of these!!

1.  Personalization

You believe you are personally responsible for situations and other people’s reactions to you.

• No one seems to like me-must be something wrong with me.
• My son is doing poorly in school. I’m a bad mother. (could there be another reason?)
•  If only I was a better person, we’d get along better. (it’s all my fault)
• She doesn’t want to go with me—I bore her.
• He did that intentionally to  hurt me (could there have been another reason?)
• When she was talking about that difficult person, I know she was talking about me.

Could there by another reason why people are reacting the way they are? Could they have something else going on in their life? Could they be tired? Could they  have something else on their mind? Could they be struggling with something?

2.  Labeling

Attaching a negative label to yourself or someone else can prevent you from seeing anything other than that which verifies the label. 

• He’s a jerk (you only see things that prove he is a jerk)
• I’m so stupid (you only notice things that prove you’re stupid)
• I’m such a failure (you only see your mistakes)
• She/he is so mean (fail to notice any time they’re nice)
• I’m such a procrastinator (only see times you don’t get things done-don’t acknowledge all the things you do accomplish)

 Let go of the labels!

3. Comparing yourself to others

 Makes you question your own worth. You come up short and it makes you feel diminished!

• She’s so much smarter than I am
• I’m slower than anyone else
• They dress so professional; I look like a slob
• He talks so intelligent; I sound unprofessional
• She’s got what it takes, I don’t
• Look how organized she is and look at me!

4. Mind Reading

You believe that you absolutely know what other people are thinking and feeling.

• I could immediately tell he was upset with me.
• I know she doesn’t like me.
• I know she thought what I said was really stupid.
• I knew he was wondering why I was there.
• He knew exactly why I was mad at him.

 Can you really know what someone else is thinking?  Could it be possible they are thinking something else?

Could you see yourself in any of these irrational thoughts? 

Thoughts that make you feel bad need to be questioned and examined