Over the next few weeks, I will be focusing on an important topic that affects many of us. That is ‘Cognitive distortions. So, what are they? It is when our minds trick us or lie to us and make us interpret events in the wrong way. These can cause our emotions to go haywire and cause us unnecessary anxiety, depression or anger. These cognitive distortions can become pattern forming and affect many aspects of our lives.
I will talk about a different cognitive distortion (let’s call it CD) every week and I am sure that you will relate to many of them, even if it is in a small way. If you are feeling anxious, depressed or some kind of overwhelming emotion about something in your life, it is because one of these CDs could be present in your way of thinking. Labeling what you are feeling as a CD could help you to take control of the way that you are thinking.
Today I will talk about the CD known as “Discounting the Positive”. This could be simply when somebody says something nice about you and you either think that they are just trying to be nice or maybe want something from you. You may just think that it is not really a positive thing at all. For me personally, I don’t like the word ego. I think there are many times when having a big head is a good thing. Maybe you got a great score at university or you did well in sport. Whenever you achieve something, no matter how small, you should always feel good about it. It is healthy.
There is a lot of research out there that has shown that people with anxiety disorders have a greater tendency to see any kind of event in a negative way, even when it is overwhelmingly positive. There are also computer programs out there that help people think in more positive ways called Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation.
If you don’t feel great about your achievements, no matter how small they are, that is unfortunate, but if you feel this way you are not alone. This could be due to general feelings of negativity or because of something that somebody else has said to you. If somebody says that your achievement is no big deal, ignore them. You know yourself that you are strong and can achieve great things and that is all that matters.
If you need someone to talk to about this problem, feel free to contact me. The first session is free.
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https://share.upmc.com/2021/05/cognitive-distortions/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100925
