Distorted Thoughts – Symptoms of Mental Illness… Dr. David Burns

Binary/Implicit Only Memory-Default-
Preadolescent (ages 7-12) Mentality…Piaget…

“Distorted thought” is a default that happens when “Trauma” is unresolved Grief …untreated becomes …PTSD … hyper-vigilant,

always “scanning” the environment for perceived ….
“Imminent Danger”…

This creates Blockage in the Intrinsic Binary “Old Temple” brain of the Ego…

If presumption become ‘belief” or (seen as truth)..it becomes “Fixed Dogma “Rules to Follow”- Boundaries not to be crossed…(Dr. Ira Prokoff)

Fear is the thief that steals the good that might have been…
William Shakespeare

Also known as BLOCKAGE & access to the Prefrontal Brain “thinking” or New Temple Brain…Alter Ego…The mind of Christ thinking…Through the Hippocampus…

Examples:
1. All-or-nothing thinking: You look at things in absolute, black and white categories or you perceive what others say to you in black or white.

2. Overgeneralization: You view negative events as excessive out of proportion & pattern of defeat. (or you view others by over-emphasizing their behavior as negative)

3. Mental filter: You dwell on the negatives and ignore the positives or view others situations only as negative…(View others behavior or them as negative people)

4. Discounting the positives: You insist that your (or that of others) accomplishments or positive qualities don’t count or “tear down or belittle the accomplishments.”

5. Jumping to conclusions:
(A) Mind reading – Acting without asking…….
An impulsive act is just “self alone” … (Not relational behavior)…
Ask & allow to engage in a relational “take-turns” conversation with other…
or you assume that people are reacting negatively to you … When there’s no definite evidence of this or you view others in a negative…Often PRESUMING…
(B) Fortune Telling – you arbitrarily predict that things will turn out badly for yourself (or wish bad luck on others.)

6. Magnification or minimization: You blow the behavior of yourself or of others way up out of proportion or you shrink their importance inappropriately

7. Emotional reasoning: You reason from how you feel: “I feel like an idiot, so I really must be one.” or (Others seem like an idiot, so they must really be one (presuming with only a “thin slice” of the truth.

8. Should statements: You criticize yourself or other people with ‘shoulds’ or ‘shouldn’t.’ ‘Musts,’, ‘Oughts,’ and ‘have to’s’ are similar offenders.

9. Labeling: You identify with your shortcomings. Instead of saying “I made a mistake,” you tell yourself, “I’m a jerk,” or “a loser.” or they are looser, they made a mistake (cut me off in traffic) so they are a jerk…

10. Personalization and Blame:
You blame yourself for something you weren’t entirely responsible or you “blame” other people & “overlook” ways that your own attitudes and behavior might contribute to a problem. ..

Our love of God and His love for us is predicated on us loving and caring for Others…

We are born with a set of emerging feelings/emotions.
As we grow, we learn from our environment (parents, siblings, peers)
how to use our “free will” to make decisions and build relationships—

Either positive or negative (distorted) based on the mental filters we use.
(Insecure Attached or Experiencing “Trauma”)…such as …
Life altering physical or mental sickness, divorce, sudden unexpected death, loss of job, etc)…

Our thoughts may not “be the truth”…

Distorted thoughts (untrue) are a “perceived through” a variety of FILTERS…
with a varying degree of truth:
Ranging from “Negative irrational” to “Mostly Negative to Normal to COMPASSIONATE…

Compassionate to Religiosity … (believes a thin slice of what they perceive is true and everyone else is in error (needs to change)… May “take insult, ” Allow feeling to “get hurt” or hold a grudge …if they do not agree to their perspective …

Enmity is used in to Create our Universe…
Genesis Chapter 3

To help understand this, Juan, Ruiz restated Jesus’ Words:
Be impeccable with your word- recognize distortions and respond with precise and accurate phraseology
Don’t take things personally (Cane killed Abel because his feelings were hurt). Truth requires us to not allow our feelings to be hurt.

A hurt feeling is a primal instinct. ..God gave us free will and he expects us to refine those emotions from our instincts. … Like the master who gave his servants talents, the one who invested & grew them was rewarded. The one who buried it in a field had them taken away. God expects us to “grow” our feelings from “sensitive – tender” to authentic and true…(steel trap) integrity…

Don’t presume anything. Our human range of perception is only a thin slice or reality and believe the “thin slice” they perceive is the truth, when the “jury is most likely still out”. Don’t judge ever. ..

Judging & Presuming are “Ego” instincts that “Free Will” is expected to change to become “Alter Ego”our final destination…Our Destiny!
Always do your best with what you have been given…

Relationships are base on truth.

As distorted thoughts are recognized & confronted…a “Pause” is helpful to recognize them & stop to choose to change Negative Distored to True & Compassionate thought… Which will create Sound, Stable Mental Health.

Create a “Thought Catcher” for negative/distorted thoughts” & learn to “Park toxic negative thoughts” in a mental space…Frozen in time …. all negative thoughts “corral” Change your filter.

“Distorted Thoughts” seem to be recognized
& perceived by the Ego or Alter Ego filters of Distorted Thoughts… Irritability, all or nothing, (list attached)

It is of value to “Rethink” & allow a little time to use the “Positive Filter” of the Prefrontal Thinking Brain & then Restate with love because of the Grace of Understanding…

HT Wagner @ Twitter
dwh1nine@gmai.com
https://wordpress.com/post/facebookcomdeehi
https://www.facebook.com/dee.hinkle2
htwagner@jencarebce..com (under construction)…
314-283-8786

Great Minds…Discuss Ideas!
Average Minds…Discuss Events!
Small Minds…Discuss People!
Smaller Minds…Gossip…

We are what we believe we are.
C. S. Lewis

“God Whispers to us in our pleasures,
Speaks to us in our conscience…
& Shouts to us in our pain & suffering.” C.S. Lewis

Share this:

Like this:

Related

Leave a Reply Cancel reply