Automatic Negative Thoughts Flashcards
(16 cards)
Mind Reading
You assume that you know what people think without having sufficient evidence of their thoughts.
Ex: “He thinks I’m a loser.”
Fortune Telling
You predict the future negatively. Things will get worse, or there is danger ahead.
Ex: “I’ll fail the exam.”
Catastrophizing
You believe that what has happened or will happen will be so awful and unbearable that you won’t be able to stand it.
Ex: “It would be terrible if I failed.”
Labeling
You assign global negative traits to yourself and/or others.
Ex: “I’m undesirable,” or “He’s a terrible person.”
Discounting Positives
You claim that the positive things you or others do are trivial.
Ex: “That class was easy, so getting an A doesn’t count.”
Negative Filtering
You focus almost exclusively on the negatives and seldom notice the positives.
Ex: “Look at all the people who don’t like me.”
Overgeneralizing
You perceive a global pattern of negatives on the basis of a single incident.
Ex: “This generally happens to me. I seem to fail at a lot of things.”
Black and White Thinking
You view events or people in all or nothing terms. Believing that something or someone can be only good or bad, right or wrong, rather than anything in-between or “shades of grey”.
Ex: “I get rejected by everyone,” or “It was a complete waste of time.”
Shoulds and Musts
You interpret events in terms of how things should be, rather than simply focusing on what is. Thinking or saying “I should” (or shouldn’t) and “I must” puts pressure on ourselves, and sets up unrealistic expectations.
Ex: “I should do well. If I don’t, then I’m a failure.”
Personalizing
You attribute a disproportionate amount of the blame for negative events to yourself, and you fail to see that certain events are also caused by others.
Ex: “My boyfriend and I broke up because I failed.”
Judgements
Making evaluations or judgements about events, ourselves, others, or the world, rather than describing what we actually see and have evidence for.
Emotional Reasoning
“I feel bad so it must be bad! I feel anxious, so I must be in danger.”
Mountains and Molehills
Exaggerating the good and positive aspects of others, but minimizing our own positives.
Compare and Despair
Seeing only the good and positive aspects in others, and comparing ourselves negatively against them.
Critical Self
Putting ourselves down, self-criticism, blaming ourselves for events or situations that are not (totally) our responsibility.
Memories
Current situations and events can trigger upsetting memories, leading us to believe that the danger is here and now, rather than in the past, causing us distress right now.
