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Hi, it's Sam here.
Welcome to Radio Headspace.
So if you've ever meditated before, you know that working with thoughts can be quite tricky.
Some thoughts are true and others not at all.
Some thoughts come so fast we can't process them quickly enough, and others are more repetitive and persistent.
One of the ways that mindfulness allows us to build resilience is by observing and identifying our own thought patterns.
It can be daunting to perceive something negative that isn't even true.
For example, maybe you think someone doesn't like you or that you did a bad job on a project and that really isn't the case.
You've built that narrative because of insecurity or worry or any number of reasons.
We doubt ourselves.
Mindfulness can help us avoid distorted perceptions and prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering, and it allows us to see things more accurately.
We begin to build our awareness of thought patterns by becoming aware of cognitive distortions.
According to the American Psychological Association, cognitive distortions are defined by faulty or inaccurate thinking, perceptions or beliefs.
Most of us have moments of faulty thinking and others have more persistent patterns of thinking that can contribute to anxiety and depression.
I want to share some of the more common cognitive distortions so that we can name them when they occur and then discover ways of infusing our thinking with a more realistic, balanced and optimistic perspective.
So let's explore two cognitive distortions and ways to work with them when they arise filtering and catastrophizing.
Filtering refers to moments when we focus too much on negative aspects of an experience and downplay the positive aspects.
One example of this is when you give a presentation that goes really well except for one moment of awkwardness or one small snafu, and later you may fixate on the small mistake and discount the 99 of the presentation that went swimmingly.
Does this sound familiar?
One way I've helped myself in these moments is to use the word and, instead of but, to recount what happened.
I might start by highlighting the strengths of the experience.
Like I was prepared and the audience was engaged and I mispronounced a name.
This allows you to see the experience as a whole so that you don't fixate on the mistake.
Our thoughts can also lean towards catastrophizing, which means that we're predicting the worst possible outcome in a situation.
Getting caught in the realm of what-if scenarios is the hallmark of this distortion, and you can feel fear.
Anxiety and worry arise because of this heightened uncertainty.
It's helpful to remember that our primal brain circuitry is trying to help us respond to and plan for a perceived threat.
And it's the same circuitry that developed millions of years ago, when our immediate and real threats, like a lion chasing us, necessitated a rapid response, usually to run, fight or freeze.
Luckily, we developed ways to respond to our catastrophizing tendencies with more compassion and reassurance.
We can respond to feelings of anxiety and worry by asking ourselves what if this works out better than I could possibly imagine?
What would that be like?
And what's one small thing I can do that will contribute to this more positive outcome?
This empowers us to move in the direction of optimism instead of getting stuck in despair.
Being able to identify distortions in thinking when they occur empowers us with insight so that we can begin to introduce more helpful thinking into our lives.
If you want to learn more about cognitive distortions, we'll put a link in the show notes for you.
I also recommend searching anxiety in the app for courses and meditations that will help you to manage your worry and spiraling thoughts.
So that's it for me for today.
Thank you for listening and I'll see you back here tomorrow.
