Black and White Thinking

Do you ever find yourself thinking all or nothing? This might look like making absolute statements about certain things such as thinking that something is either all good or all bad. For example, we might think things such as “I always get it wrong” or “I didn’t get accepted, I will always be a failure”. 

This pattern of thinking is called black and white thinking, which is an unhelpful thinking style that every person tends to engage in from time to time. Unhelpful thinking styles can also become automatic habits that individuals may not realise they are engaging in. This becomes problematic when these thoughts cause an increase in anxiety and decrease in mood. When this happens regularly and consistently this may have a detrimental impact on an individual’s social, academic, occupational and personal life. It is common in anxiety disorders and depressive disorders that an individual’s symptoms may be maintained by unhelpful thinking styles such as black and white thinking. 

We may engage in dichotomous thinking when we are trying to understand ourselves or a situation. When we find ourselves thinking from the perception of either end of the spectrum (for example, I’m either a success or a failure), we may struggle to see the reality of the situation. The reality may be somewhere in between the two ends of a spectrum within the ‘shades of grey’. 

If you are somebody who may notice yourself engaging in black and white thinking from time to time, there are ways in which we can begin to become more critical and analytical of our thoughts. This can help us determine whether the thought is realistic and fair which may alleviate some distress that the thought caused. It can be helpful to write the thought down, then ask yourself:

Things aren’t either totally white or totally black – there are shades of grey. Where is this on the spectrum?

It is also important to be mindful of when we are stressed or tired as we may be more prone to engaging in unhelpful thinking styles such as black and white thinking. This can be managed by maintaining self-care strategies particularly during times of stress which may include, exercise, relaxation activities, stress relieving techniques and mindfulness. 

When we begin to pay more attention to this pattern of thinking we can get better at stopping it in its tracks!