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 eight examples – do you recognise any of these thoughts?
Eliminating the positive is when there have been both good and bad things happening in a particular situation. But all you focus on are the bad bits.
“I’ve achieved a huge amount but that doesn’t matter because…”
Imagine you’ve just had a job appraisal at work, and your manager says you’re doing a great job:
“I’m really impressed with how you’ve managed to get these particular tasks done on time, and you get on really well with your colleagues.”
“But one of the things I’d really like to see you do a little bit different is to be a little more assertive at times and not always asking people what you should do.”
So rather than hearing: “You’re doing a really good job”, you focus on the fact that you’re not assertive enough. You forget all the good parts, and just focus on the bad.