A person experiencing self-serving bias may attribute all positive events to his or her personal character while seeing any negative events as outside of his or her control. This pattern of thinking may cause a person to refuse to admit mistakes or flaws and to live in a distorted reality http://layabout.ru/shop/600651 where he or she can do no wrong. If this type of thinker feels stupid, then to him or her this must be true. This type of thinking can be severe and may manifest as obsessive compulsion. For example, a person may feel dirty even though he or she has showered twice within the past hour.
- This extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking occurs when a person discounts positive information about a performance, event, or experience and sees only negative aspects.
- If you tend to get caught up in negative future fantasy, you are not in reality; you are locked into worry mode.
- These are irrational thoughts and beliefs we unknowingly reinforce over time, eventually causing more harm than good.
- This unhealthy pattern will breed isolation because as family and friends begin to recognize patterns, they will distance themselves to avoid being hurt.
I invite you to get help processing your emotions if it feels too big to do on your own. Overthinking is just another way of trying to gain control over a situation that feels unsettling. It’s a way to manage, and yet, as you know, it doesn’t work all that well. Telescoping is when you focus on the bad aspects of a situation to the point where you can’t even see the good.
Tips for Setting and Maintaining Healthy Boundaries in Addiction Recovery
Thinking errors can lead to irrationally negative definitions of yourself. If you call yourself “stupid,” “lazy,” “a loser,” or other derogatory labels, you reinforce the need to use a substance in order to numb these negative feelings. Try to isolate one of the negative labels you have assigned yourself and question how valid it is.
Thinking is certainly important, but it works best in relationship with our physical, social, and emotional selves. There’s real wisdom in getting out of our heads every now and then, and humbling ourselves to all we don’t know. We don’t simply smash through life chasing whatever gives us pleasure no matter the consequences (mostly). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Sober Recovery’s “Terms of Use”,
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“Health Disclaimer”. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. If you can set yourself free from these unhelpful cognitive filters, you will be more successful, more relaxed, and more able to enjoy your relationships.
Tips To Overcoming Thought Distortions In Addiction Patterns
It takes you over and it’s difficult to be present and in your body. Today you are in recovery, and you are well aware of the impact your thoughts have in your life. You notice an improved sense of wellbeing when you have control over your thoughts. https://www.mpvumbria.org/2021/ And you most certainly notice the anxiety, obsession, and disconnect you feel when your thoughts are ruling over you. Being that the mind’s job is to think, trying to control it is like asking your lungs not to breathe – it won’t work.
- My little addicted brain doesn’t fire those neurotransmitters properly, so my ability to feel happy, excited, relaxed, and content is deeply compromised.
- Even if the alcoholic becomes sober and remains sober, there are aspects of his/her personality that still need to be addressed.
- To someone with this struggle, being wrong is unthinkable, and will go to any length to demonstrate their rightness.
- Then, try to figure out if the thing you are anxious about is really a threat or if you’re making it worse with faulty thinking.
- This famous black-and-white way of thinking or an all-or-nothing approach to living can be quite dangerous.
- By seeing only two possible sides or outcomes to something, a person ignores the middle—and possibly more reasonable—ground.