What are thinking errors and how are they combated?

Thought is the mental product that arises from the ability that all human beings have to “work” with our minds.that is, to reflect or interpret what happens around us or within ourselves.

Human beings spend our days, hours and our entire lives thinking. We evaluate what happens to us, we think unimportant and even abstract things, sometimes we even have thoughts that we are ashamed of and at other times we travel with our mind to the past or the future.

We call thoughts that make us feel unhealthy emotions negative automatic thoughts, biases or cognitive distortions. Not all thoughts raise relevant emotionssince for example, if I think “there is a dog barking” it is very likely that this will do absolutely nothing to me on an emotional level.

It would be different if I thought “there is a dog barking” and then gave it a meaning “that means it is angry and could attack me”. Here things change completely, because According to my thinking, my survival or integrity is involved and this is dangerousso I have triggered the anxiety response, with all that that entails.

Some typical thinking errors

There are many thinking biases but we are going to focus on analyzing those that, in my opinion, are the most typical and those that can disturb us in a more pronounced way.

fortune teller’s mistake

This distortion occurs when I am sure that another person is thinking something in particular or when I think something is going to happen and I would even “put my hand in the fire” that it is going to be like this.

Obviously, this lacks any logic because nobody, absolutely nobody, has the ability to know what is going to happen in the future, what other people think, not even what oneself will think or do in a few years. So why are we so sure of what is happening or is going to happen? Do we perhaps have an imaginary crystal ball that tells us?

Black-white thinking

Through this error of thinking, I place certain qualities or characteristics at the extremes of a continuum, without taking into account that there is not only black or white, but also gray, with all its nuances. How many times have we told ourselves that everything has gone wrong for us because we made a mistake! Ask yourself: how can one mistake make everything bad? Aren’t you exaggerating a little?

Personalization

People often believe that we are the center of the Universe, both for good and for bad. and we think that other people are constantly watching us, what we do or don’t do, how we dress, what we say, etc.

As you may have deduced, with this mistake, we take everything personally and in this way, we feel anxiety, guilt, shyness, etc.

Catastrophize

You make this mistake when You exaggerate reality so much, without evidence, that you see threats everywhere and then you think in terms of what if?: What if I fail? What if my girlfriend leaves me? What if I’m sick? To all these questions we add the adjective terrible and then we experience it as if it had really happened already and as if, furthermore, it were a catastrophe from which we will not be able to recover.

How can I have more objective thinking?

Please note that all These thinking errors arise from different beliefs rooted in our being that have been entrenched in us since childhood, Therefore, being objective is a process that requires time and effort but can help you feel better.

You will become a more scientific and rational being, committing fewer biases in thinking if:

You interpret reality only with the five senses

We can only know reality by observing it, touching it, tasting it, listening to it and smelling it. There is no sixth sense that tells us otherwise. Therefore, trust what you are experiencing in the present moment, with your five senses, because at that moment, that is the reality to which you have access. What is going to happen in the future or is happening in another place or in another person’s mind is not your reality nor can you, a priori, know it.

You ask yourself scientific questions

If you want to know reality, in addition to using the five senses, you can ask yourself things like: How can I be so sure that my coworker is criticizing me? What evidence do I have to think that I will have an accident if I take the car? What are the chances that I will suffer from an illness?

Are you aware of where those thoughts come from?

As we have said, biases come from beliefs. These are like the roots of a tree and cognitive errors are its flowers. Analyze what your beliefs are and this way you will know why you commit those distortions. Do you need love to be happy? Do you think worrying helps solve problems? Do you think a certain type of person is wrong and deserves to be punished?

Carry out experiments

As if you were a scientist, You have to carry out experiments that will confirm or not whether what you think is true or biased. If, for example, you think that someone is talking badly about you behind your back, you will have to gather courage and ask that person if this is the case or not.

Their response will help you know if it was a movie that you had created or if it really is like that. This person may also lie to you, but we have no control over that! So, let’s focus on what we can solve and forget about the rest.

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