Definition
Placing people/situations in “either/or” categories, allows for no shades of gray or the complexity of most people and situations.
Black or White Thinking / All or Nothing
"This nurse always takes forever!"
Overgeneralization
Self Blaming
Example: "It's all my fault I have an ED."
"I will never be happy"
Examples: "I may be unhappy now which will pass." "I have been happy before and I will be happy again."
Blaming
Holding others responsible for things they may be contributing to
This type of thinking focuses on and magnifies the negative details while filtering out the positive aspects of a situation
Mental Filtering
"My meal ticket is not what I meal planned so I cannot eat any of this".
All or Nothing/Black and White Thinking
Forecasting/What If Thinking
Example: "Dinner's going to be horrible." "What if my therapist doesn't come to see me?"
"This is too much food."
Example: "I notice this feels like too much food for me right now and I'm still going to do my best because this food was prescribed just for me by my dietician so I know this is what my body needs, whether it feels like it or not."
Mindreading / "Jumping to Conclusions"
It presumes that one knows the thoughts, feelings, intentions, motivations, or other internal processes of another person. It is based on intuition with no observable facts.
Types of statements make us feel pressured, guilty or resentful that we use to motivate ourselves to do things and create unrealistic expectations.
Judging/"Shoulding"
"I am mentally ill and cannot contribute anything to anyone."
Labeling
Discounting the Positive
Example: "Anyone could have done that." "My team doesn't actually care about my successes."
"I won't be able to be happy if I gain weight"
Example: "I don't know what the future holds. I have been happy and unhappy in many different forms throughout my life. I will do my best to accept myself in order to be happy however I am."
Catastrophizing
Expecting disaster to strike, no matter what.
Holding others responsible for things they may be contributing to
Blaming
"I should be further along in recovery by now"
Shoulding/Judging
Mindreading
Example: "She doesn't like me."
"This food is disgusting"
Example: "I notice myself reacting to this food. I think I am feeling _____ because of _____ which I usually don't enjoy. I will still do my best to eat as much as I can and even try some of what I don't think I'll like just to confirm. I want to allow myself every opportunity to grow/progress."
Overgeneralization
Making broad, global inferences based on a few limited events.
The possibility of a catastrophe is confused with its probability
Overestimating the Threat/Magnification
"Nothing good happened today"
Mental Filtering
Feelings are Facts
Example: "I feel full = I'm fat"
"My team only cares about my weight"
Example: "My team cares about all of me, including but not limited to my weight. My team cares about my mental and physical well being which involves a number of different factors to keep track of how I am progressing in recovery."
Feelings are Facts
Also known as “emotional reasoning,” this type of thinking specifies that because we feel it, we are therefore sure it is real or will become real. We are sure our negative feelings reflect what is reality.