Name the thinking trap
Lily’s friend walks past her in the hallway without saying hi. Lily thinks, “She must be mad at me because I did something wrong.”
Making it personal
“Nobody is going to want to sit with me at lunch.” Make this thought more balanced.
Example: "Someone might want to sit with me, or I could ask someone to sit together.”
Your friend gets a B on a test but only talks about the questions they got wrong. They say, “I did terrible.” What could you say to them?
Example: “You missed some questions, but you also got a lot of them right. Getting a B doesn’t mean you did terribly.”
Fortune telling is when you try to predict the future without sufficient evidence.
True
Ethan has to give a presentation tomorrow and thinks, “I already know I’m going to mess up in front of everyone.”
Fortune Telling
“If I don’t get an A on this test, I'm going to fail this class.” Make this thought more balanced.
Example: “I can still do well even if I don’t get an A. One grade doesn’t decide whether I succeeded.”
Your friend says, “I’m the only one who gets nervous before presentations.” What could you say to them?
“A lot of people get nervous before presenting, even if they don’t show it.”
Black-and-white thinking means seeing only two possibilities and forgetting about everything in between.
True
Aiden gets second place in a competition and thinks, “If I didn’t win, then I did terribly.”
Black and white thinking
“I yelled at my brother, but it’s his fault because he annoyed me.” Make this thought more balanced.
Example: “He annoyed me, but I’m still responsible for how I reacted.”
Your friend doesn’t get invited to one birthday party and says, “Nobody at school likes me.” What could you say to them?
Example: “Not getting invited to one party doesn’t mean nobody likes you. I'm your friend!”
Making it personal means blaming someone else for something you did.
False