Errors in Thinking that Create Anxiety
1. All-or-nothing thinking: Looking at things in black-or-white categories, with no middle ground (âIf I fall short of perfection, Iâm a total failure.â)
2. Overgeneralization: Generalizing from a single negative experience, expecting it to hold true forever (âI didnât get hired for the job. Iâll never get any job.â)
3. The mental filter: Focusing on the negatives while filtering out all the positives. Noticing the one thing that went wrong, rather than all the things that went right.
4. Diminishing the positive: Coming up with reasons why positive events donât count (âI did well on the presentation, but that was just dumb luck.â)
5. Jumping to conclusions: Making negative interpretations without actual evidence. You act like a mind reader (âI can tell she secretly hates me.â) or a fortune teller (âI just know something terrible is going to happen.â)
6. Catastrophizing: Expecting the worst-case scenario to happen (âThe pilot said weâre in for some turbulence. The planeâs going to crash!â)
7. Emotional reasoning: Believing that the way you feel reflects reality (âI feel frightened right now. That must mean Iâm in real physical danger.â)
8. âShouldsâ and âshould-notsâ: Holding yourself to a strict list of what you should and shouldnât do and beating yourself up if you break any of the rule
9. Labeling: Labeling yourself based on mistakes and perceived shortcomings (âIâm a failure; an idiot; a loser.â)
10. Personalization: Assuming responsibility for things that are outside your control (âItâs my fault my son got in an accident. I should have warned him to drive carefully in the rain.â)
Source: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_self_help.htm
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