Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Do you ever find yourself feeling like nothing good ever happens to you? Or do you find yourself ruminating on all the possibly bad things that happened in a given situation? For example, focusing on all the things that could’ve been done better after a job interview or feeling we failed a test due to not being able to answer some of the questions. Another example is that we might feel like we have the worst luck.  

This pattern of thinking is called ‘mental filter’, 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 ‘mental filter’. 

Mental filter occurs when we notice only what the filter allows or wants us to notice, and we dismiss anything that doesn’t ‘fit’. Like looking through ‘gloomy specs’ or only catching the negative stuff in our ‘kitchen strainers’ whilst anything more positive or realistic is dismissed. When we are engaging in mental filter it is likely we would be seeing our glass a being half empty rather than half full in any situation. 

If you are somebody who may notice yourself wearing ‘gloomy specs’ 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:

Am I only noticing the bad stuff? Am I filtering out the positives? Am I wearing those ‘gloomy specs’? What would be more realistic?

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 mental filter. 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!