Types of Unhelpful Thoughts

Being able to notice unhelpful thoughts is the first step you can take to adjust them to more helpful ones. Have a look at the following 8 common examples – do you recognise any of these thoughts?


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Catastrophising is when you tend to see or think the worst in situations.

 

“If I don’t get that invitation, then clearly nobody loves me.”

 
Catastrophising is one of the most unhelpful thinking styles.
It is often used in everyday language, for instance:

 

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It’s not going to be the worst thing ever. You might feel very uncomfortable at the time but there are probably worse things.
 

Another example could be:

 

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Or
 
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Catastrophising is expecting the extreme negative in a situation.