Thought patterns that cause stress and anxiety

Potentially, stress is something that threatens us all. Different events and conflicts in life can cause stress for a person. And if these events and conflicts accumulate, mental health problems can be significant. The memory, the images of these events, permeate the person’s life and evoke pain and suffering.

But, even if they are overcome, when these images are evoked, tense situations can occur that predispose to stress and anxiety. These images are internal triggers that cause stress even in the absence of real stress factors.

It is important to be aware of the traps we can fall into that cause us stress.

To do this, we are going to see the cognitive distortions most common that can create stress. We must be aware of these distortions to rethink the thought models that lead us to them.

Cognitive distortions that cause stress and anxiety

#1 – Just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s real

We tend to believe that some of our thoughts are real because they have great power, have been accepted by others, or have been repeated many times. But actually, Thoughts are just thoughts and do not necessarily represent objective reality.

There is an element of subjective bias that begins to operate in these situations, when the person distorts reality and imagines all kinds of scenarios related to the event. In this way, perception may be responsible for the feelings of anxiety and insecurity that the person is experiencing.. Therefore, it is vital to check the reality before jumping to conclusions and making assumptions about the situation.

#2 – Value judgment on subjective assumptions

When people begin to believe that all thoughts are true just because they appear that way in our imagination, we find ourselves facing distorted thoughts. This irrational way of thinking appears because heHuman beings tend to form opinions and make value judgments about people, situations, and events.

Once again, subjective bias can distort reality. When you base your conclusions only on what you think, you can fall into the trap of this type of distortion. Sometimes, Random thoughts cross our mind and put irrational seeds in it..

#3 – Not all thoughts are equally important

When people begin to believe that all thoughts are equally important, we can make a mistake. Some thoughts only represent our opinion or are the result of our particular evaluation. Some of them might be important and some might be irrelevant.

However, People generally do not discriminate between important thoughts and irrelevant thoughts., and we draw a conclusion that leads to stress. We have to be aware of thoughts that are exaggerated and generalizable.

#4 – Threatening thoughts

Sometimes we imagine a threat in every situation and start believing every thought that comes into our mind. Not all thoughts are real; toSome of the thoughts pose unnecessary threats, which are dysfunctional thoughts..

But, the person who receives them tends to believe in them and feels threatened and stressed. We must be careful with this tendency and not give in to every thought that comes into our head.

#5 – Getting stuck in a stressful thinking style

Sometimes we can get stuck in a thinking style that encompasses permanence, omnipresence and personalization.

These traps can cause immense stress in the person who believes that the stress will last forever (dwelling distortion). But in reality, very few stressors last forever.

#6 – Generalization of stress states

When a person tends to believe that the effects of stress have become widespread and will affect all aspects of their lives, they are making a mistake in their way of thinking, and they need to rethink their thinking style.

Pessimistic people tend to make this mistake of overgeneralization and they begin to believe that stress that affects one facet of their life will sooner or later encompass everything. But, in reality, this is not true.

Control thoughts to deal with stress

It is possible to deal with stress more effectively when we try to manage it by controlling our thoughts and not giving in to every thought that comes to mind regarding a stressful situation.

Keep this in mind so as not to distort your conclusions and reframe your thoughts with healthy and functional thought patterns.